(Published in the Manila Standard Today inder the Greenlight column, Nov 3, 2008)
I recently attended the 17th Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry held in Macau from Oct. 27 to 30, which was attended by the region's foremost leaders, experts, practitioners, professionals, academics, equipment suppliers and service providers in the electricity industry to meet and exchange knowledge and expertise.
The apt theme of the conference, "Power sector in the fast climate changing world," summarizes the urgency among industry players to be cognizant of the impact of power production and distribution on the environment.
Balancing act
As the Asian power sector is experiencing unprecedented rapid growth in electricity demand, environmental awareness is likewise on the increase. The challenge this pose is how industry players can do a balancing act between meeting demand and preserving the environment.
This issue is compounded by fuel price volatility, which has witnessed peaks and troughs these past years, aggravating concerns about the future availability of some energy supplies and over¬dependence on particular fuels in many countries.
The current financial crisis' has increased the strain among industry players, as large institutional as well as ordinary consumers of electricity may potentially reduce their usage. This may affect the structure and competitiveness of many national electricity markets, which will evolve at a greater or lesser pace. New investors are appearing as others leave the stage.
Uniting to tackle the challenges
The conference delegates, numbering a over a thousand from 17 member countries, recognized these issues and were all in unison to tackle the challenges that they face. These were further punctuated by Mr. Lau Si Lo, representative of Macau chief executive, in his opening remarks when he said, "We will employ cleaner fuels as well as actively explore the use of alternative fuels and renewable in Macau. We ~e keen to promote energy efficiency by enforcing demand-side management through public campaigns, enhanced price signals, energy management, new technologies and other methods."
Technology providers likewise demonstrated their solutions to address some of the issues. For instance, IBM has created and demonstrated the Intelligent Utility Network (IUN) solution to transform the way power is delivered and managed, analyzed and used.
One pillar of IUN is advanced meter management (AMM), which enables utilities to remotely collect usage data via sensors¬ eliminating manual meter readers in the field. Instead, smart meters automatically collect and transport the reads, at regular intervals or on demand. AMM analytics then extract meaningful knowledge from volumes of data, which enables informed decisions about operations during times of high demand.
Innovative solutions from the Philippines
The Philippines delegation, which included Manila Electric Co., National Transmission Corp., and National Power Corp., shared their expertise, innovation and experience to address many of the issues raised during the conference. In fact, it's laudable that the Philippine representatives, Meralco in particular, delivered the most technical paper presentations to a foreign audience, from a variety of topics-from business intelligence to improve operations to energy efficiency in the electricity industry. Many of the papers presented by the Philippine delegates were innovative solutions to technical, process, and people issues-a clear testament of the innovative talent of Filipinos.
It is also timely that the leadership in the local power sector was recognized by CNBC, the media company, when it nominated Meralco's chairman and chief executive, Manuel Lopez, for the 7th Annual Asia Business Leaders Awards. This is truly an honor for the country. Mr. Lopez is nominated together with a roster of accomplished business leaders in the region, including Mr. S Ramadorai, chief executive and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. of India, Dr. Viroj Mavichak, managing director of Thai Oil PCL, among others.
The Philippine power sector, with the leadership of its executives and professionals is truly poised to face the challenges of the industry.
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Reynaldo C. Lugtu Jr. teaches management and marketing courses in the MBA Program of De La Salle University, Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business. He may be e-mailed at rlugtu2002@yahoo.com or visit his blog at http://rlugtu.blogspot.com.>
I recently attended the 17th Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry held in Macau from Oct. 27 to 30, which was attended by the region's foremost leaders, experts, practitioners, professionals, academics, equipment suppliers and service providers in the electricity industry to meet and exchange knowledge and expertise.
The apt theme of the conference, "Power sector in the fast climate changing world," summarizes the urgency among industry players to be cognizant of the impact of power production and distribution on the environment.
Balancing act
As the Asian power sector is experiencing unprecedented rapid growth in electricity demand, environmental awareness is likewise on the increase. The challenge this pose is how industry players can do a balancing act between meeting demand and preserving the environment.
This issue is compounded by fuel price volatility, which has witnessed peaks and troughs these past years, aggravating concerns about the future availability of some energy supplies and over¬dependence on particular fuels in many countries.
The current financial crisis' has increased the strain among industry players, as large institutional as well as ordinary consumers of electricity may potentially reduce their usage. This may affect the structure and competitiveness of many national electricity markets, which will evolve at a greater or lesser pace. New investors are appearing as others leave the stage.
Uniting to tackle the challenges
The conference delegates, numbering a over a thousand from 17 member countries, recognized these issues and were all in unison to tackle the challenges that they face. These were further punctuated by Mr. Lau Si Lo, representative of Macau chief executive, in his opening remarks when he said, "We will employ cleaner fuels as well as actively explore the use of alternative fuels and renewable in Macau. We ~e keen to promote energy efficiency by enforcing demand-side management through public campaigns, enhanced price signals, energy management, new technologies and other methods."
Technology providers likewise demonstrated their solutions to address some of the issues. For instance, IBM has created and demonstrated the Intelligent Utility Network (IUN) solution to transform the way power is delivered and managed, analyzed and used.
One pillar of IUN is advanced meter management (AMM), which enables utilities to remotely collect usage data via sensors¬ eliminating manual meter readers in the field. Instead, smart meters automatically collect and transport the reads, at regular intervals or on demand. AMM analytics then extract meaningful knowledge from volumes of data, which enables informed decisions about operations during times of high demand.
Innovative solutions from the Philippines
The Philippines delegation, which included Manila Electric Co., National Transmission Corp., and National Power Corp., shared their expertise, innovation and experience to address many of the issues raised during the conference. In fact, it's laudable that the Philippine representatives, Meralco in particular, delivered the most technical paper presentations to a foreign audience, from a variety of topics-from business intelligence to improve operations to energy efficiency in the electricity industry. Many of the papers presented by the Philippine delegates were innovative solutions to technical, process, and people issues-a clear testament of the innovative talent of Filipinos.
It is also timely that the leadership in the local power sector was recognized by CNBC, the media company, when it nominated Meralco's chairman and chief executive, Manuel Lopez, for the 7th Annual Asia Business Leaders Awards. This is truly an honor for the country. Mr. Lopez is nominated together with a roster of accomplished business leaders in the region, including Mr. S Ramadorai, chief executive and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. of India, Dr. Viroj Mavichak, managing director of Thai Oil PCL, among others.
The Philippine power sector, with the leadership of its executives and professionals is truly poised to face the challenges of the industry.
----------------------
Reynaldo C. Lugtu Jr. teaches management and marketing courses in the MBA Program of De La Salle University, Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business. He may be e-mailed at rlugtu2002@yahoo.com or visit his blog at http://rlugtu.blogspot.com.>
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