With volatility in the Visayas grid expected to persist through 2028, businesses in Cebu must start strengthening the energy systems within their own operations. COREPLUS, a subsidiary of Vivant Energy, delivered this message at SIDLAK CEBU: Building Business Resilience During Energy Volatility, which gathered around 50 business owners and industry professionals recently at JEG Tower.
In his keynote, “The State of the Visayas Grid,” PJ Vinoya, Senior Business Development Manager of COREPLUS, said the volatility will last through 2028 because the region’s challenges are structural rather than seasonal. He cited repeated grid alerts, generation outages, rising demand, and volatile electricity prices.
“Businesses need to look beyond the direct cost of electricity. Voltage dips and outages, equipment wear, downtime, inefficient loads, and planned expansion all affect operations, and these are factors businesses can act on,” said Vinoya.
COREPLUS, a subsidiary of COREnergy, provides energy engineering and technical services for commercial and industrial facilities – from electrical audits and electrical system maintenance, to energy transformation projects such as energy efficiency retrofits, EMS integration and Solar + BESS projects. With partners FV Mapile, Huawei, and Jinko Solar, it brought together businesses, technical experts, and solution providers for a half-day conversation grounded in the realities of the Visayas grid.
The event’s sessions were designed to translate the broader grid situation into practical solutions for individual businesses. The first session, “Energy & Electrical Safety Audit: Why It Matters,” led by Jonas Mapili, Chief Operating Officer of COREPLUS partner FV Mapile, discussed how businesses can assess their electrical systems, identify potential risks, and understand areas where improvements may be needed.
This was followed by “Compact Secondary Substations: Strengthening Your Power Infrastructure,” led by Dorcas Jay Regalado, Head of Engineering at COREPLUS. The session explored how businesses can strengthen their internal power infrastructure and better prepare for growing energy requirements.
The third session, “Unlocking Solar Solutions: What Businesses Need to Know,” led by Romeo Cubangbang, Jr., Head of Solar at COREPLUS, provided participants with a practical look at solar solutions and the factors businesses should consider before investing in solar upgrades.
The program concluded its technical sessions with “The Solar Solution Showcase: Finding the Right Fit,” featuring COREPLUS partners Huawei and Jinko Solar. The showcase allowed participants to explore different solar technologies and better understand how solutions may be matched to specific facility or business requirements.
The technical discussions were complemented by one-on-one consultations, giving participants the opportunity to engage directly with COREPLUS and its partners about their own facilities’ energy-related requirements.
For COREPLUS, the event reflects the importance of helping businesses shift from simply reacting to changes in the external power market toward understanding and strengthening the factors they can control within their own operations.
“The current energy landscape calls for businesses to be more proactive about understanding and managing their energy needs. At COREPLUS, we want to help businesses move from simply responding to energy challenges to preparing for them—by bringing together the right expertise, technologies, and solutions for their specific requirements,” said Melo Del Gallego, AVP for Business Acceleration, COREPLUS.
COREPLUS remains committed to equipping Cebu’s business community with practical strategies and technology partnerships to ensure long-term operational stability.
