The Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the Philippines’ largest electricity distributor, sees the country as a strategic, cost-competitive and operationally prepared destination for hyperscale digital infrastructure in the global data center industry.
During a high-level dialogue on Powering the Philippines’ Competitiveness in Hyperscale and Digital Infrastructure held at the Asian Development Bank, Meralco showcased the Philippines’ readiness to cater hyperscale data centers and other energy-intensive digital investments – narrowing a long-standing gap with its regional peers.
In its white paper on “Positioning the Philippines for Hyperscale Data Center Growth: Power Cost, Incentive Strategy, and Investment Readiness in Southeast Asia,” Meralco highlighted how hyperscale investors can unlock globally competitive power rates through the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) and tax incentives under the CREATE MORE Act – effectively aligning electricity costs within the Meralco franchise area with those of leading Southeast Asian markets.
The Philippines is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s Data Center powerhouses – with strong investor confidence and a rapidly expanding pipeline of projects.
Meralco Vice President and Head of Utility Economics Lawrence S. Fernandez cited that Meralco’s data center portfolio delivered sustained organic growth while simultaneously building a strong investment pipeline, hence the need to ensure that the entire power system is ready to respond to the growing data center industry.
“For years, the long-standing narrative that the Philippines has the highest power rates in the region has been one of the biggest barriers to investment. But that context is changing, and the reality today is very different,” he said.
Fernandez added that the effective power rate of an end-user under Competitive Retail Electricity Market (CREM) in Meralco’s franchise through optimized sourcing is around 11 US cents/kWh, putting it at par with Thailand and Malaysia, even without government subsidies.|
