Maynilad calibrates systems to prepare for El Niño

By Othel V. Campos

MAYNILAD Water Services Inc. said it is calibrating its operational systems in response to a memorandum issued by the Office of the President to address the looming El Niño dry spell.

The memo signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin required the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water Company, the National Water Resources Board and all local water utilities administration to submit a detailed month- ly report on water supply and demand to the Water Regulatory Management Office. Water agencies were also asked to instantly report aberrations in water supply, especially if there is a sudden spike in demand and a supply deficit. They were also encouraged to implement water conservation measures, such as but not limited to non-revenue water management and water pressure management. The memo asked all water-related projects to expedite completion to reduce non-revenue water and upgrade water distribution pipes. Local government units were encouraged to process the requests of water service providers for waterworks within a reasonable period of time.

PH-ISRAEL TIEUP.

The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. and the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute sign a memorandum of understanding to pursue mutual interest in trade and economic development to help improve bilateral trade worth about $534 million in goods last year. Signing the MOA during the Israel-Philippines Business Forum on June 5 at New World Hotel in Makati City are PhilExport president Dr. Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. (seated, left) and IEICI deputy director general Sabine Segal (seated, right). With them are (standing, from left) National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the State of Israel Eli Cohen and Ambassador Yael Ravia-Zadok.

The WRMO, a newly-formed agency under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, overseas the implementation of strategies towards water conservation, monitor compliance of government agencies and instrumentalities with the aforementioned water conservation measures, and provide quarterly updates to the Office of the President.

2 startups team up to revolutionize delivery, e-commerce

By Darwin G. Amojelar

TWO Filipino start-ups forged a strategic partnership to revolutionize the local e-commerce and delivery service in the country.

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The partnership between Dingdong and RiderKo aims to provide a 100-percent Filipino-powered all-in-one platform that offers easy and convenient transactions for customers and business merchants to expand the local delivery service industry. Dingdong, a last-mile delivery fulfillment company with hands-on delivery solutions, offers fully-assisted booking and stationed rider services for customers and merchant partners. The firm advocates to professionalize the delivery service industry. Meanwhile, RiderKo, a 100-percent Filipino-developed mobile application that offers on-demand food and door-todoor delivery services, prides itself on nurturing local tech talents to provide global solutions. Together, the two startups are set to combine their wealth of expertise, talent and innovation in the tech and delivery sectors to create a holistic e-commerce and delivery experience to benefit partner businesses and app users.

LALAMOVE, one of the country’s leading ondemand delivery platforms, will transfer its multimodal hub to the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange in July to provide better accessibility for its network of partner drivers and strengthen its intra- and inter-city delivery capabilities.

“Transferring to PITX is pivotal for Lalamove. It will help materialize our vision to expand our delivery fleet especially our line of trucks while enjoying the connectivity that PITX offers in Luzon and interisland transportation and shipping,” Lalamove Philippines managing director Djon Nacario said.

“This is aligned with our mission to continuously empower the communities we serve - our loyal users, businesses of all sizes, and partner drivers,” he said.

Nacario said Lalamove is geared toward the right direction in providing better access to its network of partner drivers in the entirety of Luzon.

“We warmly welcome Lalamove to PITX, which is committed to providing mobility solutions for both passengers and goods. On top of seamless transport connections, we are now helping deliver seamless logistics for one of the country’s top lastmile delivery providers,” MWM Terminals Inc. president Jaime Raphael Feliciano said. Darwin G. Amojelar

ERC set to release final auction rates next week

THE Energy Regulatory Commission said it will release the final reserve price for the Green Energy Auction Program 2 next week.

ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said they aimed to release the GEA Reserve price by Wednesday or Thursday so that bidders could still consider the rates in the preparation for the bids on June 19.

Dimalanta said the new rates would vary depending on the feedback gathered in the public consultations but assured that the agency will act faithfully according to its mandate.

“We think there is a space wherein these interests align—so, the mindset-shift comes in terms of searching for that space of alignment rather than simply balancing the interests which implies that one interest is favored over the other,” Dimalanta said when asked how the regulator would balance the interest of the consumers and the power generators.

The partnership comes at an opportune time to provide more options for Filipino consumers and businesses as demand for delivery services continues to grow. The two startups believe that not only is it important to expand the industry, but also to ensure that it caters to the unique needs and requirements of the local market.

“More than a partnership, we share the same vision and a mutual trust and respect for each other, our riders, our merchants, and our stakeholders,” Dingdong founder and chairman Dingdong Dantes said.

Quezon facility to start ammonia co-fired power generation within the year

By Alena

Mae S. Flores

QUEZON Power (Philippines) Ltd. Co. will start co-firing its 460-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon with ammonia by the end of the year, the Department of Energy said over the weekend.

“I know for a fact that Quezon Power is planning to experiment with 20-percent co-firing by the end of the year,” DOE undersecretary Rowena Guevara said in a recent forum.

The agency is looking at ammonia

co-fired

co-firing for coal plants to bring down carbon dioxide emissions.

Electricity Generating Public Company Ltd. of Thailand, Quezon Power and Doosan Enerbility Co. Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding in January to study the feasibility of ammonia co-fired power generation at the Quezon power plant.

The MOU will support EGCO Group’s strategic plan to reduce its carbon dioxide emission intensity by 10 percent by 2030. EGCO Group’s “Cleaner, Smarter and

Stronger to Drive Sustainable Growth” business direction aims to promote sustainable growth over the long term for its businesses in the region including Quezon Power with an ultimate goal for EGCO Group of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The Power for People Coalition and local stakeholders, however, opposed ammonia co-fired generation at the coal plant, saying it would only lead to prolonging and exacerbating woes on high electricity costs and pollution from the facility.

The groups said ammonia is increasingly being promoted by proponents in the region as a way of lowering the carbon footprint of combustion in coal power generation facilities.

“Retrofitting the plant to accommodate co-firing, ammonia fuel production, transport and other required processes will only add more costs and promote the continued use of coal to sell power that consumers simply can no longer afford,” said Gerry Arances, convenor of P4P.

Manila Standard TODAY

ERC recently completed the public consultations for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao on the preliminary GEAR 2. Alena Mae S. Flores