ACEN, GCash partner for Ilocos solar rollout

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April 30, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala Group’s ACEN Corp. and GCash have teamed up with the Ilocos Norte provincial government to make solar rooftop accessible to households for as low as P1,300 per month.

Through this program, households can access flexible financing options without needing traditional bank collateral.

Fuse Financing Inc., the lending arm of GCash, will offer an easy digital application process and flexible payment terms via GGives, with terms ranging from three to 10 years.

“This initiative reflects how strong collaboration between the public and private sectors can bring the benefits of renewable energy (RE) directly to communities,” ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said.

“By combining solar technology, accessible financing and local engagement, we are making clean energy more inclusive and within reach of Filipino households,” Francia added.

The partnership, which includes solar firm Solaric Philippines and the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC), will also accelerate the adoption of the net metering program to complement rooftop solar installations.

With net metering, households can export any excess electricity from their solar power systems to the grid and receive credits on their monthly power bills.

INEC will facilitate the net metering process, while Solaric will support the rollout and installation of solar rooftop facilities for participating households.

Ilocos Norte has long been a hub for RE development, with ACEN alone owning at least four utility-scale wind assets in the province.

Apart from empowering consumers with lower electricity costs, the rooftop solar campaign shifts the focus from large RE projects to household-level adoption.

Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have prompted homes and businesses to turn to solar and other clean power sources to cushion the impact of a looming increase in electricity prices.

Lawson Philippines, for instance, has tapped ACEN RES, the Ayala Group’s retail electricity arm, to power the operations of its 25 stores with 100 percent RE.

Under the deal, ACEN RES will pool the demand of Lawson stores across Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite and Bulacan under the retail aggregation program (RAP). The rollout is scheduled to begin next month.

RAP allows multiple end-users within the same franchise area to consolidate their demand and meet the minimum threshold required to directly negotiate supply terms.

Lawson Philippines president Yasuhiro Sato expects the RE switch to help the convenience store chain save on energy costs while optimizing its consumption.

“We will continue to expand Lawson stores in the future and strive to reduce energy costs by utilizing renewable energy. We look forward to building a brighter, greener future together,” Sato said.