• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Innovation and resilience will be critical as the Philippine power sector prepares for rising energy requirements, Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) president and chief executive officer Roel Castro said.
Castro made the statement during the Private Electric Power Operators Association (PEPOA) Conference hosted by Negros Power under Primelectric Holdings Inc. on Sept. 10 at Citadines in Bacolod City.
The conference, held as part of ASCEND 2026, carried the theme “Powering the Future Together: Advancing Smarter Energy Innovations for a Resilient System.”
Castro said the industry must look ahead, adopt smarter technologies and continuously improve electricity delivery to communities as energy needs increase.
“Powering the future requires us to think ahead, embrace smarter technologies, and continuously improve the way we deliver electricity to our communities,” he said.
Castro also underscored the importance of reliable power infrastructure in supporting communities, businesses and economic growth, particularly in the Visayas.
“For us in the Visayas, reliability and resilience are not simply industry goals. They directly affect our communities, businesses, and the continued growth of our region,” he said.
The conference brought together representatives of private distribution utilities and officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to discuss power supply, market operations, regulatory concerns, reliability and other issues affecting the electricity sector.
Among the ERC officials present were Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan, Supervising Energy Regulation Officer Roland Albert Rivera, and Sharon Montaner of the Market Operations Service.
PEPOA president Ranulfo Ocampo also attended.
A key part of the gathering was an open dialogue between the ERC and the distribution utilities, allowing participants to raise regulatory concerns and share experiences from their respective areas.
Ocampo stressed that cooperation among distribution utilities, regulators and other stakeholders is necessary to address challenges facing the power sector.
“The power industry is facing challenges that cannot be addressed by one sector alone,” he said. | GPB
