“Meralco will send some of our engineers to a two-year graduate program targeting local talents who are graduates and practicing Mechanical, Electrical, Material Engineering, and related areas in universities in the US, in Canada, Korea, Japan, France,” Meralco Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.
Aiming to be a catalyst for change and improvement in the energy industry, Giga Summit effectively served as a platform wherein industry leaders, policymakers, and experts can discuss innovative solutions and emerging trends. According to Meralco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan, the company intends to invest in local talents and support aspiring Filipino nuclear engineers to help accelerate the development of nuclear power through education and training in the highly specialized field of nuclear engineering.
Following the academic phase, the selected scholars will also undergo a one-year immersion and internship from 2027 to 2028 at partner SMR and MMR facilities abroad like Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation . With transportation identified as the primary contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the Philippines, implementing sustainable mobility solutions such as adopting electric vehicles has become an urgent priority for the government.
Mr. Geluz shared that with the successful electrification of 156 or 7% of the company’s vehicles, Meralco already exceeded the 5% mandatory EV share of corporate and government fleets under the EVIDA Law. Meralco Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho underscored the vital role that distribution utilities like Meralco play in the transition to the grid of the future to ensure energy security, resilience of energy infrastructure, and competitiveness of the energy sector.
A key highlight mentioned by Mr. Aperocho is the deployment of 140,000 smart meters, most of which were used by the company for its prepaid electricity program, covering small, selected parts of its franchise area. Over the next few years, Meralco aims to pioneer the use of pole-mounted BESS to increase the hosting capacity of low-voltage networks and mobile BESS to provide backup power during planned line maintenance works.
The Giga Summit was supported by MPower, Vantage Energy, First Philippine Electric Cooperation, PPI Pazifik Power Inc., Siemens, and Exist Software Labs, Inc.As the country’s premiere electric distribution utility, Meralco advocates safety and considers it a cornerstone of its operations.