Philippines look for smarter, 'future-ready' electricity

What will it take to provide reliable electricity to more people across the Philippines? The country’s largest distributor of electrical power sees an answer in better, smarter computing and smart-grid technology.

Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is enlisting the help of Cisco to take a “holistic approach” to electricity service using a foundation of improved computing and networking.

The transformation is needed to become a future-ready energy provider “in an industry made even more challenging with deregulation,” said Marthyn Cuan, Meralco’s vice president and chief information officer.

“Legacy grid infrastructure, rising power generation costs and emerging technologies are driving the company to pursue a new and more intelligent distribution network,” Cuan said. “We needed an IT infrastructure that is robust, flexible, and highly secure yet cost-effective.”