(100% CLEANENERGY. Widus AVP for corporate management Neki Liwanag receives from Aboitiz Power Generation Group CEO Felino Bernardo a plaque certifying the hotel’s 100 Percent Cleanenergy. Joining them are (L-R) Widus Hotel GM Tarek Aouni, Aboitiz market strategy manager David Aboitiz, AVP for sales and retail Catherine Pasilaban, Widus AVP finance Mitchell Estacio, Aboitiz renewables COO Alexander Coo, and AVP James Yu. Photo by Bong Lacson)
CLARK FREEPORT – The owner and operator of a premiere destination in this freeport has partnered with a leading listed company for clean and renewable energy.
Widus International Leisure Inc. (WILI), owner and operator of Widus Hotel and Casino, and the Marriott Hotel here, signed an agreement with Aboitiz Power to supply its complex with the socalled clean energy.
During a roundtable discussion at the hotel’s Prism Lounge here on Wednesday, it was learned that WILI tapped Aboitiz Power for a 2.5-megawatt (MW) energy requirement, which is an expansion of its previous 1.5-MW supply deal inked last year.
Aboitiz now supplies WILI with 100 percent of its power requirements.
“Apart from being known for our signature warmth and hospitality, we are proud to be a company that values sustainability (by utilizing clean energy),” said Neki A.
Liwanag, WILI assistant vice president for corporate planning and compliance.
The Aboitiz group led by 5th generation Aboitiz scion, David Mikel Aboitiz, market strategy manager, said it will supply Widus with geothermal energy from its plant in Laguna and Batangas in southern Luzon.
AboitizPower chief operating officer Emmanuel V. Rubio said: “There are a lot of energy companies in the Philippines, so we are really honored to be the preferred partner of Widus in its journey toward sustainability.”
He added that with AboitizPower’s proven track record in the industry, as well as adequate capacity of Cleanergy, “we are confi dent that we will be able to support the current and future energy needs of Widus.”
Felino M. Bernardo, CEO of AboitizPower Generation Group, also said that in addition to having enough capacity, the company strives to optimize its power plants for the ultimate benefit of the consumers.
The energy supply is being sourced from one of the energy company’s renewable plants, the MakBan geothermal power plant that straddles the provinces of Batangas and Laguna.
WILI signed a power supply agreement with AboitizPower under the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) scheme, which allows businesses and institutions with a monthly average peak demand of 750 kilowatts (KW) to source their energy supply from a Retail Electricity Supplier.
In the retail electricity market, customers are given the opportunity to choose the supplier and rate that will allow for savings and security from market volatility.
The partnership was established in 2018 when WILI made the switch to the listed company’s brand of clean and renewable energy.
AboitizPower and WILI celebrated their partnership through a ceremonial awarding of the Cleanergy plaque on Wednesday after the roundtable discussion with the members of the media.
Meanwhile, Aboitiz said some 10 locators here have also inked agreements for sustainable energy with them.
