MERALCO TO POWER PLDT’S 11TH AND LARGEST VITRO HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER LOCATED IN STA. ROSA, LAGUNA. Present during the groundbreaking ceremony last March 18 were (from L-R): RED Engineering Regional Director for Asia-Pacific Martin Webb, DICT Regional Director Cheryl C. Ortega, Meralco President and CEO Atty. Ray C. Espinosa, PLDT and Smart President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio, PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza, Laguna Governor Ramil L. Hernandez, Sta. Rosa City Mayor Arlene B. Arcillas, and PLDT FVP and Head of Digital Office Viboy S. Genuino.(Photo courtesy of PLDT)

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has teamed up with the PLDT Group to ensure that the country’s largest hyperscale data center will have reliable and high-quality electricity service once it starts operations.

Meralco is building a custom-designed substation on the site of VITRO Sta. Rosa, the telco’s 11thhyperscale data center, which is currently being constructed in a five-hectare property in Laguna.

The Meralco substation will serve the dynamic power requirements of the hyperscale data center and will have the capability to scale-up and address the growing power demand of the facility over time through the installation of additional power banks.

This substation design will also provide resilient and flexible power to the data center, ensuring service continuity that goes beyond the standard requirements of the TIA-942 Rated 3 coverage.

“In a developing country like the Philippines, innovations become imperative to support and spur development. Meralco is honored to be part of this groundbreaking milestone of the PLDT Group, enabling more innovations to provide topnotch service to its clients,” said Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Networks Ronnie L. Aperocho.

“The new Meralco substation is designed to support the distinct power requirements of this VITRO Sta. Rosa hyperscale data center through the delivery of safe, adequate, reliable, and high-quality electricity service, consistent with our commitment to our 7.4 million customers,” Aperocho added.

PLDT and Smart FVP & Head of Enterprise Business Group and ePLDT Chief Commercial Officer Jojo G. Gendrano, for his part, said: “This partnership with Meralco will assure our customers of unparalleled service. With this, coupled with ePLDT’s deep Data Center operational experience & expertise, we are able to provide our valued customers with world-class colocation services.”

As a power-intensive facility, PLDT recognizes the environmental impact of operating a data center of this capacity and has therefore integrated sustainability into its design and operations.

“Beyond providing the massive power requirements of the hyperscale data center, Meralco also commits to support PLDT’s thrust to utilize renewable energy (RE) and energy efficient technologies to make the data center operations truly sustainable,” Meralco President and CEO Atty. Ray C. Espinosa said.

“This is also timely as Meralco has already started shifting towards delivering clean energy to our customers beginning with our commitment to source 1,500 MW of our power requirements in the next five years from renewables, and to build 1,500 MW of RE generation capacity by 2027,” he added.

VITRO Sta. Rosa is designed to be energy efficient utilizing the latest innovations in cooling and power redundancy. It is Tier-3 certified and Tier-4 ready, and has the highest level of network diversity and resilience with at least three fiber routes from PLDT, augmented by routes from other carriers.

“The PLDT Group is one with the nation in building a digitally advanced Philippines and making our country the next hyperscaler destination in Asia Pacific. With VITRO Sta. Rosa, we aim to set the benchmark in infrastructure resilience, operational excellence, global competitiveness, and world-class sustainability,” PLDT President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio said.

“A facility of this caliber ensures the best possible customer experience not only for our hyperscale clients, but also for the Filipino end-users consuming their services. We at the PLDT Group are committed to providing world-class services to our global enterprise clients and to enabling the digital transformation of the country and the Filipino people,” Panlilio concluded.