Lopez-led geothermal energy company Energy Development Corp. (EDC) is maintaining a capital expenditure (capex) of about P7 billion to 8 billion for next year amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
“For EDC, the intention is to maintain capital expenditures as planned at [more or less] P7 billion to P8 billion annually in 2020 and 2021,” officials said during the company’s annual meeting.
The pandemic, however, has brought challenges in the company’s ability to execute various projects given various levels of quarantine across its sites, executives said. These projects are heavily dependent on foreign materials and services which were adversely affected during the lockdown measures against Covid-19, executives said.
Still, EDC expects no material impact on electricity generation for the year and ramp up plans are already in place to quickly recover from the delays, such as the drilling activities of EDC and the execution of the upgrades in the control systems of Palinpinon 1.
“We have a plan in place to recover and to ramp up activities quickly once delivery of materials and mobilization of manpower can resume,” the company said.
EDC maintains a total portfolio of 1,499.14-megawatts (MW) of renewable energy comprised primarily of 1,204.67 MW of reliable and sustainable geothermal energy, along with 150 MW of wind, 132.5 MW of hydro and 11.97 MW of solar.
The company said it shifted to “integrated reporting” of its yearly performance to further highlight the value it contributes to the ecosystem and to society as it strives towards a regenerative future.
For the past nine years, EDC has reported on its sustainability performance utilizing the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, which primarily covers the “triple bottom line” or impact on people, planet and profit.
EDC’s integrated reporting enhances the discussion and presentation of material issues and disclosures guided by GRI standards with the framework set forth by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the company said.
The IIRC framework measures the performance and value that businesses have created based on six forms of capital. These are financial capital, manufacturing capital, human capital, social and relationship capital, intellectual capital, and natural capital.
EDC’s integrated reporting, it stressed, is an essential tool in regenerative development, a globally emerging business principle centered on holistic processes. It goes beyond sustainability and organizational impact on citizens, the economy and the environment, and extends to how the company intends to create value in the short to medium and long term.
“This shift toward an integrated reporting practice reflects EDC’s proactive approach to the long-term growth of the company. We have focused on improving and reporting on our sustainability performance for almost a decade. Today, we understand that sustainability was only the first step in our journey. Now, we shift our focus to regeneration, in the hopes that we can restore the environment we share and create a better future for all Filipinos,” the report stated.
In his message, EDC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Federico R. Lopez said that the move articulates a renewed mission for the company as well as the entire First Philippine Holdings (FPH) conglomerate “to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future.”
EDC posted its highest recurring net income of P11.6 billion in 2019 despite enduring challenges in the energy sector. It likewise reported a record high of 9,300.1 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of total energy sales from renewable energy sources, up by 4.0 percent from 8,945.3 GWh in 2018.
“As a result of all our operational improvements, our EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) grew by 15 percent versus the prior five-year average,” EDC President and Chief Operating Officer Richard B. Tantoco said.
