Meralco Unveils its first E-vehicle Power Station

Meralco recently unveiled its e-Vehicle Power Station project to industry stakeholders, the media and invited government officials.  It is the first charging station of its kind in the Philippines. As the country’s leading power distributor, Meralco can perform technical tests of different charging technologies ranging from regular electrical power to renewable (solar and wind power) and even fast charging. The station is designed to accept “sachet” or partial charging apart from the conventional full charging for depleted batteries of e-Vehicles of EVs.

The Meralco pilot station will serve as a blueprint for commercial implementation to study the habits and usage behavior for various applications as well as validate its business case assumptions such as computing the actual cost to serve the different charging technologies.

“We want to be instrumental in building the complete ecosystem for the expected influx of electric vehicles in the country. Meralco will assist in making the electric vehicle charging technology available to interested partner companies and priority sectors like public transport operators. Meralco will be ready when the market for eVehicles becomes ripe and stakeholders start adopting the technology. Meralco will be there to meet the demands and requirements for this environment friendly initiative,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, SVP and Head of Customer Retail Services and Corporate Communications of Meralco.

Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan further explains that Meralco has to help build a complete ecosystem to encourage the proliferation of EVs in the country by encouraging production of locally made EVs as much as possible and not importing these vehicles. “We are prepared to invest and set up financing for EVs so we do not have to import these vehicles.” Said Pangilinan.

Meralco will also assist in setting the rates for charging and make the electric vehicle charging technology available to interested partner companies and entities. Among those present was former Taguig City Mayor Freddie Tinga who has become an E-Vehicle entrepreneur since he went back into private life.

According to Pangilinan, it took one and a half years for the project to be developed and the Meralco eVehicle Power Station instrumental step towards the company’s vision of a highly electrified future by the year 2021, the Philippines’ 500th anniversary year.

The charging station will be providing regular charging technology that caters to the practical needs of its future customers like the electric tricycle (eTrike) and electric jeepney (eJeep). Some operating eTrikes and eJeeps were on display during the launch. When the vehicle’s battery is fully charged, the Meralco charging equipment recognizes the status and cuts off charging, while an LCD display shows the rate per kWh, the total kWh consumed, and the equivalent peso amount.

The company’s mid-term goal sees the Meralco eVehicle Power Station project integrated into the company’s Smart Grid initiatives, to enable the tracking and monitoring of the load profile of EV charging. Eventually, this will pave the way for the introduction of the Demand Response System (DRS) to encourage users to charge during off-peak hours. Meralco advocates the adoption of the twist-lock connector for regular charging equipment because this coupling mechanism protects against accidental disconnection, ensuring that any attached EV will be fully charged.

Pangilinan further explains that the project was made possible through a partnership with the University of the Philippines’ Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (UP-EEEI) and envisions Meralco’s role in helping to create a more eco-friendly future for the country. During the last part of the ceremony, all eyes were on a Tesla S luxury eVehicle sedan that was unveiled during the event. Manufactured by Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley tech company that produces eVehicle luxury sedans and sports cars in the USA. The move is seen as a statement that even the country’s business elite should advocate alternative fuel vehicles as a mode of transport.