The month of February 2024 marks my 17th year in the power industry, which started when I was appointed as the President and CEO of SN Aboitiz Power in 2007. At that time, the Company participated in the reforms initiated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA to acquire the operations of Magat Hydro located in Ramon, Isabela and Alfonso Lista, Ifugao. We consider these privatization efforts to be a once in a lifetime opportunity as these assets are quite valuable to the grid.
As a family man, my instinct is to also think about how the water supply will affect the food on our table; especially rice, which is a staple in every Filipino home. Water is also very important to agriculture, with a well-managed field requiring about 2,600 liters to produce one kilo of rice. When you think of it, Magat — being a multi-purpose dam — is a perfect representation of the relationships between water, energy, agriculture, and climate change. It captures the main theme of this column, which strives to point out connections across complex social realities and understand that things in life aren’t as disjointed as we sometimes make it out to be. When even a single string on a guitar is off tune, it is noticeable as it permeates into the sound produced by a strum.
Consistent with my point, an energy transition is more complex than just adding more and more renewable energy and removing traditional power plants. An energy system — like Magat — does not exist in a vacuum. It is ingrained in the ecosystem that it supports, touching on multiple socio-economic realities and influenced by each respective local context.