Coal Power and the Philippines' Energy Conglomerates
More energy, particularly from stable and reliable sources, provides a country with more flexibility in its modernization path.
Coal is a useful energy source for industrialization, as evidenced by three key points:
- The UK developed the world's first coal plant in 1882, and coal powered the UK, Germany, US, and other countries towards rapid industrialization.
- Global coal generation has consistently risen from 3,748 terawatt-hours (TWH) in 1985 to 7,361 TWH in 2005 and 10,613 TWH in 2024.
- China's rapid industrialization was largely powered by coal, increasing from 261 TWH in 1985 to 1,980 TWH in 2005 and 5,828 TWH in 2024, accounting for 55% of the world's total.
With this background, four Philippine conglomerates with significant energy footprints come to mind, including Meralco and its power generation subsidiary, Meralco PowerGen Corp., which have a diverse portfolio of thermal (coal and gas) and renewable energy sources.
More energy means more leeway on the kind of modernization path a country can take.
Author's summary: Coal powers industrialization and modernization.
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