100% E-VEHICLES. Aboitiz Power Corp. president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio lead the launch of the electric vehicle (EV) fleet transformation program at the Blue Leaf Cosmopolitan in Quezon City on Thursday (Aug. 31, 2023). The company targets all its power distribution networks to use 100 percent EVs by 2040. (Photo courtesy of AboitizPower)
MANILA – Aboitiz Power Corp. on Thursday launched its electric vehicle (EV) fleet transformation program, wherein the power firm targets to transform 100 percent of its distribution utilities’ (DUs) vehicles into EV by 2040.
At the launch of the EV fleet transformation program in Quezon City, AboitizPower president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio said the company targets to increase the share of EVs in its power distribution networks to 40 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040, which will include four-wheel vehicles and motorcycles.
Rubio said the program is part of AboitizPower’s commitment to play an active role in transforming the country’s energy system.
“The mobility sector has always had a history of being the highest energy-consuming sector in the country. In fact, the sector accounts for 31.3 percent of total final energy consumption with over 11 million tons of oil equivalent,” he said, citing data from the Department of Energy (DOE).
Rubio said the electrification of mobility is a key enabler to achieve a cleaner and more sustainable energy system.
“Electric vehicle owners of the future may not only be power consumers, but may also become a vital part of the modern power landscape, buying and selling energy, balancing the grid, and participating in sustaining a cleaner power grid of the future,” he added.
AboitizPower Distribution Utilities chief operating officer Anton Percides told reporters on the sidelines of the event that the fleet transformation program would have 200 service vehicles and 200 motorbikes for five DUs and four industrial zones.
Power distribution networks of AboitizPower include the Visayan Electric Company, Inc., Davao Light and Power Co., Cotabato Light and Power Co., San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co., Inc., and EnerZone Group.
EnerZones powers the communities and businesses in industrial zones in Subic; Balamban and Mactan in Cebu; and Lima and Malvar in Batangas.
The initial EVs will be rolled out in three key cities of AboitizPower’s DUs, specifically Visayan Electric, Davao Light and Cotabato Light, whose charging stations will be in their respective facilities where they operate.
“Bound to be deployed in the franchise areas we serve in Visayas and Mindanao, with land areas more than six times the size of Metro Manila, these vehicles are geared to prove their efficiency and reliability in this new age of electric mobility,” Percides said.
He added that electrifying AboitizPower DUs’ fleet would help in the further reduction of carbon emissions, lower operating costs and contribute to cleaner air in the cities where the DUs operate.
The program also aims to empower the evolution of the cities where its DUs serve. (PNA)
