(L-R) Melchor Condrillon, Head of PLDT Visayas Facilities Management; Melissa Vergel De Dios, PLDT Chief Sustainability Officer; Henrey Donguines, Property Executive of PLDT Property and Facilities Management; and Michael Stephen Uy, Project Manager of SPECTRUM

PLDT Inc. (PLDT) has completed the installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels at its AS Fortuna office in Mandaue City, Cebu. It is the first of about 20 sites nationwide that the company has lined up for solar panel installation as part of its decarbonization roadmap. 

The office covers North Cebu and Mactan Island and houses a sales and service center, enterprise offices, facilities management, as well as PLDT and Smart equipment. 

“This is just the start of the many initiatives that we have lined up to reduce our carbon footprint as we further embed sustainability into our business. In addition, while the installation will not take us completely off-grid, we are expecting that this will help reduce our operating expenses as the cost of energy generated by the solar panels are expected to be lower than the current cost of commercial power,” said Melissa Vergel De Dios, First Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at PLDT. 

(L-R) Michael Stephen Uy, Project Manager of SPECTRUM; Henrey Donguines, Property Executive of PLDT Property and Facilities Management; Melissa Vergel De Dios, PLDT Chief Sustainability Officer; and Melchor Condrillon, Head of PLDT Visayas Facilities Management 

More than 200 PV panels rated at 450 watts each have been installed on the rooftop of the PLDT building, to complement energy sourced commercially. The facility can generate almost 87,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean energy or up to 94 kilowatt-peak capacity on its first full year of operation, reducing commercial power use which is mostly sourced from coal-fired or diesel-fed power plants. 

With clean energy, the Mandaue office is expected to cut almost 62 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year equivalent to around 1,000 trees planted. PLDT will further slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the installation of similar systems in four more sites in the Visayas. These five projects alone are expected to reach 821-kilowatt peak capacity, generating more than 591,000 kWh of renewable energy annually. 

With President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio having identified sustainability as one of the key fulcrums that underpin the PLDT Group strategy, he is leading the charge in advocating the expanded use of renewable energy and green technologies in the group’s operations. As part of this, the PLDT Group developed a decarbonization roadmap which aims to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by around 40% by 2030. 

These initiatives underscore PLDT’s efforts in helping the country achieve its commitment under the Paris Agreement and to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals particularly UNSDG No. 7 on affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.