Converge ICT Solutions of Pampanga-based businessman Dennis Anthony Uy will be getting its electricity supply from First Gen Corporation’s geothermal assets to power its main office in Pasig City.
Under the two-year deal signed by Uy with other Converge officials and First Gen led by its Chairman and CEO Federico Lopez, the broadband provider will source its power supply from Energy Development Corporation’s (EDC) Tongonan plant in Leyte. EDC is a First Gen subsidiary.
The Lopez-led firm is expected to provide a maximum of 1.5 megawatts (MW) in the first year, and is projected to increase to 2.5MW in the second year.
Converge is a contestable customer of First Gen under the government’s retail competition and open access (RCOA) program, which allows eligible to choose their electricity supplier.
Uy, Converge’s CEO, expects not only operating cost savings for the company, but stresses that the primary reason for the shift is in helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Philippines is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and this has direct implications on the future of our business, too. We have chosen to take decisive action now. This is the first major step in our journey to becoming carbon neutral,” said Converge Chief Strategy Officer Benjamin Azada.
“Businesses like Converge are realizing that wasting less energy isn’t just good for the planet, it’s also good for business,” said First Gen EVP Victor Emmanuel Santos.
Aside from RCOA, First Gen has three retail electricity supplier participants under the government’s green energy option program, namely Bacman Geothermal, Inc. (BGI), First Gen Energy Solutions, and Green Core Geothermal, Inc. (GCGI).
GCGI particularly provides power to the exclusive Manila Polo Club in Forbes Park, Makati City and Megaworld’s Uptown Place building complex in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City; while BGI supplies electricity to the iconic Ali Mall in Cubao, Quezon City.