MGEN powers communities beyond the grid

MANILA, Philippines — Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) continues to translate its operational growth into programs that create meaningful and lasting impact for the communities connected to its operations.

Across classrooms in Isabela, training rooms in Nueva Ecija and football grounds in Western Visayas, MGEN is converting a record 27,289 GWh of energy delivered in 2025 into something that outlasts any single kilowatt.

From training the country’s next energy workforce to lighting fields where young athletes train after dark, each program reflects the same conviction: that powering a better tomorrow means investing in the people and places where energy makes its impact felt.

Building the next energy workforce

The Visayas now has its first Meralco Power Academy (MPA) facility, bringing One Meralco’s technical expertise, learning programs, and best practices to the region for the first time.

The MGEN Center for Innovation (MCI), a reimagining of the former GBP Institute for Energy inside the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) facility in Iloilo City, is designed to be the first of many, a model for how MGEN brings education and innovation directly into its operating communities.

“Now, MCI will serve a wider audience and aim to become a leading hub for energy education, research, and innovation. This is the first of many Centers for Innovation we plan to establish across our sites in the Philippines,” MGEN president and CEO Emmanuel Rubio said.

That same ambition extends beyond the Visayas.

Through the MPA’s Filipino Scholars and Interns on Nuclear Engineering (FISSION) initiative as part of One Meralco’s Nuclear Energy Strategic Transition (NEST) program, MGEN has already sent some of its talents abroad for international training in France, Canada, South Korea and China to build nuclear energy readiness in preparation for the country’s long-term energy future.

In Nueva Ecija, MGEN, through its affiliate Terra Solar Philippines Inc., collaborated with various local governments and MPA to launch livelihood programs for communities surrounding the MTerra Solar project.

The TERRAnsform program equips scholars with specialized training tailored to support the ongoing construction of the project.

To date, the program has graduated 603 scholars, with nearly 60 percent absorbed by the engineering, procurement and construction contractors of the project.

Young athletes in Iloilo can now train and compete after dark, made possible by the first internationally compliant, plaza-based football lighting system in Western Visayas.

Through PEDC and in collaboration with the Iloilo City Government and One Meralco Foundation, MGEN completed the P17.3 million La Paz Football Ground project with the facility managed by the Iloilo City Government under Mayor Raisa Treñas to support the Iloilo City Sports Academy and the Sports Kickstarter Program.

These programs make the case that a company supporting the country’s sustainable energy future carries both a responsibility and a capacity to shape the communities that host its operations, not just the grid.