Celebrating its 10th year in the industry and as the market’s leading Retail Electricity Supplier in the Philippines, MPower continues to provide its partners with value-added services through its series of learning events. This year’s 8th Partners’ Forum was conducted last April 23 and zeroed in on the 2023 Power Outlook and Energy Management.
Graced by over 200 leaders, representing 170+ different partner companies, the online forum featured two well regarded speakers in their field: Mr. Rodrigo Echeverri, Head of Research at Noble Resources, who gave his insights on the coal market’s supply and price trends; and Meralco Power Academy’s Eugene Araullo, a multidisciplinary energy industry professional who shared his technical expertise on energy management, efficiency and compliance to the R.A. 11285 or widely known as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.
Assistant Vice President and Retail Sales Head, Mr. Eddie John Adug, kicked off the program through his welcome remarks wherein he focused on the importance of careful planning and ability to pivot quickly in times of challenges through continuous learning.
Mr. Rodrigo Echeverri then proceeded with his presentation giving much needed insight into the status of coal industry and its impact to the global electricity prices. He stressed that the coal price trend, including Newcastle, is heavily influenced by European gas prices and the economic activity in various countries. To answer the leading question if coal prices will return to normalcy in 2023, Mr. Echeverri stated that there will be stability on coal this year but expect that the current rate will be the status quo and will not be going down anytime soon due to the factors that he discussed.
The presentation was followed by Mr. Eugene Araullo who gave the audience a new perspective on the best energy management practices for businesses. He discussed the opportunities and savings companies can benefit from supporting RA 11285 or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act. He also emphasized the importance of having Energy Managers and Energy Auditors to best find optimized ways to manage and efficiently use energy. Through these efforts, we stand to gain closer to a more sustainable future that helps with climate change and the financial pockets of our companies.
The last part of the program was a bustling question & answer portion, moderated by host Dr. Danie Laurel, where participants had the opportunity to ask and consult esteemed speakers on their related topics. To conclude the event, Senior Vice President and Head of MPower, Mr. Roberto Almazora, addressed the attendees to express his gratitude and to highlight Vena Energy’s commercial launch in Ilocos which adds to the RES’s renewable energy supply portfolio. He also invited the audience to join iMPower’s 4th Back to School Donation Drive, an annual outreach program with One Meralco Foundation which has already reached 16 public elementary schools and provided students with Php 2M worth of equipment and learning supplies.
MPower’s next forum will be held in November 2023. For more updates on MPower and its learning events, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.