“EDC’s generosity and compassion towards us, the employees, as well as our contractual workers, are overwhelming. Let us pay it forward to those who are less fortunate who may need our help,” said an employee in one of the company’s group threads. This is a sentiment echoed by many within the organization, as Energy Development Corporation was one of the very first companies in the Philippines to implement a work from home arrangement to ensure the safety of its more than a thousand employees and their families across the country.
With the aim of extending much-needed support to healthcare workers and families affected by the quarantine and lockdown, EDC employees launched a fundraising campaign, Tindog Pilipinas, Dili Mo Namo Pasagdan (Rise Philippines, We Will Not Let You Down) to generate donations that would provide over P200,000.00 worth of PPEs and food packs to healthcare frontliners in hospitals not only in Metro Manila but even in other parts of the country
The Lopez-led geothermal leader also contributed to the Pantawid ng Pag-ibig campaign of ABS-CBN, which provides food to families who can’t make a living due to the quarantine in place. To date, the total amount of donations pooled by the employees of Energy Development Corporation has reached P1.8 million pesos. This is in addition to the P100 million pledged by its mother company, First Philippine Holdings, to the Pantawid ng Pag-ibig Program; as well as another donation of P100 million by the Lopez Group to the Department of Transportation’s efforts to bring OFWs safely back to the Philippines.
With the extension of the enhanced community quarantine to April 30, the organization extended aid to the contractual workers who might not have enough cash reserves to get through the entire period without pay. EDC employees agreed to the delayed release of their merit increases so the funds can be allocated instead to the security guards, housekeeping staff, delivery personnel, and drivers across all sites for the meantime.
When the COVID-19 virus started to spread in the Visayas and Mindanao regions and confirmed cases and PUIs started to fill provincial hospitals, EDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility managers in each of the company’s renewable energy facilities began coordination with the LGUs for relief operations in March. Several employee-led fundraising campaigns were launched in an effort to provide much needed supplies to the families living in EDC’s host areas. Its Negros CSR team has launched Tabang Dumaguete, with donations from the site employees reaching a total of 50,000 pesos to address the needs of the city’s marginal sectors. The team recently launched another employee fundraising campaign, Shoulder-to-shoulder, to supplement the needs of the facility’s daily contractors and their families.
“We continue to express our gratitude for how our company takes care of us, employees, by paying it forward,” said and by showing our deepest appreciation to the frontline workers who continue to bravely serve the country amid this COVID-19 pandemic,” said Atty. Allan Barcena, head of EDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Relations.
The employees’ assistance that was provided to frontliners, contractors, and the chronically food insecure in its areas of operation was done in addition to its P12M worth of committed relief efforts in the form of rice and food donation, container vans for its host local government units’ temporary quarantine facilities, and supply of masks, thermal scanners, personal protective equipment, and other items to medical frontliners.
EDC’s 1,475MW total installed capacity generates 37% of the country’s total renewable energy, with its 1,181MW geothermal portfolio accounting for 61% of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity and putting the Philippines on the map as the world’s 3rd largest geothermal producer.
The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is a pioneer in generating 100% clean, renewable, and reliable power as an electricity supplier in the Philippines for over 40 years. With power plants all over Visayas and Mindanao, the company is one of the biggest producers of geothermal energy in Asia and is expanding its reach in the international market, allowing it to offer customers affordable energy rates. EDC also strives to provide the best customer service it can to all its clients by having helpful salespeople and easy to understand contracts. Because of all of this, it is poised to become the premier supplier of electricity for the Philippines’ Green Energy Option Program. EDC takes its mission as a renewable energy provider seriously and goes beyond sustainability by investing in programs that enhance the environment and empower its partner communities, thereby fostering regenerative development. The company has also been working toward being carbon-neutral by improving its energy efficiency, as well as implementing various greening projects to ensure that its mission to provide future generations with a better life remains intact.
