The newly-appointed president and chief executive of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) was elected as the president of SP New Energy Corp (SPNEC).
SPNEC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Friday Emmanuel Rubio will replace Manuel Pangilinan who will step down after taking over the company for more than six months.
Pangilinan, however, will remain as chairman of SPNEC.
Company sources said Rubio’s election as president and CEO of SPNEC was in light of his recent election as president and CEO of MGEN.
SPNEC is the renewable arm of MGEN and in charge of developing the P200-billion Terra solar project in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.
The project involves the construction of 3,500 megawatts of solar panels and 4,000 megawatt-hours of batter energy storage.
Meanwhile, SPNEC also disclosed the resignation of Rochel Donato Gloria as director of SPNEC and election of Rubio as replacement.
SPNEC chief operations officer Dominador Camu Jr. also resigned and will be replaced by Dennis Jordan.
Rubio, who retired as president and CEO of Aboitiz Power Corp., took over MGEN on July 1, 2024.
MGEN acquired a majority stake in SPNEC, which was founded by businessman Leandro Leviste through a series of transactions with total investment reaching nearly P16 billion.
Leviste, through Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc., still owns less than 30 percent in SPNEC.
Pangilinan earlier said SPNEC would likely take in two foreign partners in Terra Solar Philippines to help fund the world’s biggest solar project.
SPNEC started clearing operations for the Terra Solar site in January 2024, ahead of the construction of the project’s interconnection facilities with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and the installation of over five million solar panels to meet its construction timeline.
The company secured over 3,000 hectares, primarily in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, most of which were converted into industrial use.
