ACEN Corp., the Ayala group’s listed energy platform, said Friday that Philippine Seven Corp, had partnered with its retail electricity arm, ACEN Renewable Energy Solutions (ACEN RES), to shift some of the retail chain’s outlets across the capital and Luzon to 100-percent renewable energy.
Philippine Seven is the exclusive master licensee and operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain in the Philippines and currently operates more than 4,500 7-Eleven stores across the country.
ACEN said it and Philippine Seven had agreed to shift more than 1,450 7-Eleven stores across Metro Manila, Batangas, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Cavite, and Nueva Ecija to 100-percent renewable energy under the government’s Retail Aggregation Program (RAP).
ACEN said the clean power would be sourced from its portfolio of solar, wind, and geothermal plants.
RAP is a government initiative that allows electricity consumers to aggregate or cluster their demand to access retail electricity supply, provided that the combined capacity of the electricity consumers meets the contestability threshold, which is currently at 500 kilowatts.
“Our collaboration with ACEN RES is a cornerstone of Philippine Seven Corporation’s growth and sustainability strategy. Recent global energy disruptions have highlighted the vulnerability of local businesses, and by shifting to indigenous renewable sources, we are effectively shielding our operations from market volatility,” Philippine Seven Chairman Jose Victor Paterno said.
“Beyond resilience, we are also aligning ourselves with an increasingly eco-conscious consumer base,” he added.
ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia said the company wanted to “make the shift to renewable energy simple and accessible for businesses, and having Philippine Seven Corporation join the RAP marks an important milestone in advancing the country’s transition to a more sustainable and energy-secure future.”
ACEN RES one of the fastest-growing renewable energy companies in Asia-Pacific, with the Philippines as its core and largest market. It also has a significant presence in Australia, Vietnam, India and Laos, along with strategic investments in Indonesia and other markets.
The company currently has more than seven gigawatts of attributable renewable energy capacity spanning projects in operation, under construction and with signed agreements.
Philippine Seven shares on Friday surged four percent, or P1.30, to P33.80 each while those of ACEN climbed P0.09, or 2.99 percent, to P3.10 apiece.
