The coronavirus pandemic has become the biggest global crisis in recent history. Yet, even when the world overcomes this, there are still others far greater looming in the horizon.

The World Bank has urged countries to accelerate and protect efforts to achieve affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 2030 targets. The call followed a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the report, significant progress had been made on various aspects of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 prior to the start of the COVID-19 crisis. This includes a notable reduction in the number of people worldwide lacking access to electricity, strong uptake of renewable energy for electricity generation, and improvements in energy efficiency.

“The energy sector has played a vital role in supporting the delivery of healthcare, remote working and many other needs. Like many other sectors, it has been strongly affected by the COVID-19 crisis,” the IEA wrote on its website.

In the Philippines, key players in the energy industry are stepping up. One of them, Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen), has made a commitment to be part of a transition that will drive the country’s recovery post-pandemic.

“The current situation underscores the importance of continuous, reliable, sufficient and cost-competitive electricity supply that is necessary to carry out the efforts to fight COVID-19 and help people to continue sustain their needs at the comfort of their homes,” said MGen President and CEO Rogelio L. Singson.

“As the power generation unit of Meralco, MGen’s core values and business strategy are aligned with One Meralco Group’s Sustainability Agenda which involves plans in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with focus on Power, Planet, People and Prosperity,” he added.

MGen’s role will focus on sustainable energy for the country’s future through the implementation of the energy transition plan that involves an environmentally conscious and diversified power generation portfolio that will utilize high efficiency, low emissions (HELE) technology and renewable energy (RE).

MGen is making serious strides on the RE front. In June 2019, the company incorporated MGen Renewable Energy, Inc. (MGreen) which serves as the platform for the company’s strategic push for the development of utility-scale solar, wind and hydro projects.

Through MGreen, the company targets about 1,000 MW of RE projects over the next five to seven years. The company’s first solar investment is a 50-MWac solar farm in Bulacan, which is currently ongoing construction and is expected to be completed in late 2020.

“We will develop more renewable projects and at the same time be conscious of our need to generate lowest cost electricity to reach the farthest communities in the country,” Mr. Singson promised.

“At MGen, we believe that we need a balanced and well-thought-out energy transition strategy. It will not happen overnight, but we are committed to make it happen,” he concluded.