By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
TECH startup SolX Technologies, Inc. is working to bridge gaps in the energy sector through advanced technology, its chief executive officer (CEO) said.
“We are expanding heavily on our technology tools,” Sergius U. Santos, SolX Technologies CEO and co-founder, said in an interview with BusinessWorld.
“SolX has its expansion plans, with a focus on making an impact in the Philippines,” he added.
Founded in 2022, SolX Technologies is a software firm assisting companies in energy management to reduce their energy consumption and electricity rates.
The company provides a platform matching qualified energy suppliers with potential energy buyers, guiding them in the provisions of the retail competition and open access (RCOA) and the green energy option program (GEOP) in different industries.
RCOA introduces retail competition to the energy industry. It allows contestable consumers, or those that have an average of 500 kilowatts of consumption per month, to choose their preferred electricity suppliers.
This program, which was established under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, promotes fair competition in the electric power industry by allowing end-users to choose their suppliers, which is expected to result in an affordable and reliable supply of electricity.
With a background in electronic and communications engineering, Mr. Santos said the company plans to leverage technology in navigating the heavily regulated energy industry.
“The energy sector is a very esoteric sector; there is no major course that will actually teach you what is happening in the sector. There are a lot of opportunities and gaps in the market,” he said.
Mr. Santos said the company plans to capture the opportunities in the energy sector while also bridging the gaps in the industry.
He identified these gaps as the lack of systems and processes in terms of allowing consumers to actually see the comparison of offers or transparency to know the right contract for them.
“Those are the two biggest bottlenecks, I would say, the consumer education and the lack of transparency. So, SolX, initially, we started just as a business that allows you to get the best offer,” he said.
SolX leverages a real-time energy monitoring system to determine data and assess their clients’ energy consumption, which allows them to match the right energy supplier using their platform.
Today, SolX is further expanding its business to provide other services in the energy sector, Mr. Santos said.
“Right now, we are slowly expanding into the rooftop solar space,” he said.
“We are young in the sense that the innovation in terms of technologies coming into the energy space in the Philippines is very young. And there’s not a lot of innovation being generated organically from the Philippines. And it’s also young because the regulation for the retail market is new,” he said.
To date, the company is servicing more than 100 facilities nationwide with around 500 megawatts in total capacity, Mr. Santos said, noting that the company is targeting to achieve 300 facilities in the Philippines within its medium to long-term target or within the next three years.
Further, Mr. Santos said the company is also planning to offer its services abroad but would like to further expand its footprint here in the country.
