By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
OFF-GRID ENERGY GENERATOR DMCI Power Corp. expects a higher energy sales volume this year, propelled by increased demand and dependable operational performance, its top official said.
“I can say that it should be a lot higher than last year because, (in) our experience, for the first five months of this year, it has been a lot higher than last year; (we’ve seen) double-digit growth in volume.” DMCI Power President Antonio E. Gatdula, Jr. said in an interview with BusinessWorld last week.
He noted that last year’s weather was rainy compared to this year’s El Niño conditions, prompting increased use of air cooling appliances to alleviate warmth.
“In terms of availability of our plants, we have not experienced load shedding in Masbate even if we experienced high demand this year,” Mr. Gatdula said.
He added that the company has been prepared and has not experienced any load shedding, or reduction in electricity supply to prevent a complete blackout, across all sites.
In 2023, DMCI Power recorded an energy sales volume of 454 gigawatt-hours (GWh), marking a 7% increase from the 426 GWh recorded in 2022.
This increase was attributed to solid demand and targeted investments in underserved and unserved areas.
As of June 22, Mr. Gatdula noted that the company saw a 12% growth in its sales volume compared to the same period last year.
“Hopefully, weather permitting, we can maintain double digit growth up to the end of the year,” he said.
Mr. Gatdula also said that the company will be spending its “biggest annual capital expenditure” for 2024, which amounts to about P2 billion, on various energy projects.
One of the projects under development is a 12-megawatt wind farm on Semirara Island in Antique province, scheduled to commence operations by the first quarter of 2025.
Mr. Gatdula said the company aims to conduct testing of the wind turbine in December.
Established in 2006, DMCI Power primarily focuses on providing energy to off-grid small and remote islands. Its portfolio includes diesel, bunker, and thermal energy solutions.
