DAVAO Light and Power Co. Inc. is upgrading both its power infrastructure and digital systems as Davao’s growing economy raises demand for more reliable and responsive electricity services.
Arvin Padayhag, assistant vice president for network and security infrastructure at Davao Light and Aboitiz Power Distribution Utilities, said the utility is moving beyond simply maintaining a reliable network toward building a more connected, resilient, and intelligent power system.
“As our cities become smarter and more connected, reliability itself has to become smarter,” Padayhag said during Globe Business’ G Summit 2026 at the Acacia Hotel Davao on September 2, 2026.
Davao Light serves a 10,223-square-kilometer franchise area through 29 substations across Davao City and Davao del Norte. It had 602,073 customers as of July 2026.
Padayhag said customers may not see the substations, control centers, and distribution systems behind their electricity supply, but they expect one thing: power when they need it and quick restoration when outages occur.
“A city cannot become truly smart unless the infrastructure behind it becomes smarter too,” he said.
The utility has built its digital transformation around projects covering asset management, customer information and billing, geographic information systems and mobility.
It is also deploying technologies such as advanced metering infrastructure, automated distribution management, asset performance management and mobile applications.
Padayhag said connecting these systems is more important than simply having multiple digital tools.
“Simply having many digital systems does not necessarily make an organization digital,” he said. “Information happens when those systems begin to connect.”
The connected systems allow the utility to combine information from its assets, network, field personnel, and control center to improve decision-making.
Davao Light is also using smart devices and network intelligence to detect disturbances and respond to outages more quickly. Its 24-hour control center uses supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, systems to monitor operations and reconfigure the network during emergencies.
“For us, resilience means three things: See more, respond faster, and recover stronger,” Padayhag said.
The company is also continuing investments in physical infrastructure.
Davao Light has added a 150-megavolt-ampere transformer at its ERA substation, which serves downtown Davao. It is also piloting smart meters, electric vehicle readiness, and broadband over utility poles.
The utility is supporting underground cabling and the city’s “One Pole Policy,” which aims to reduce visual clutter and improve safety along streets.
Padayhag said digitalization will not replace physical infrastructure.
“Physical and digital infrastructure have to evolve together,” he said.
The utility is also strengthening cybersecurity and access management while modernizing its IT operations.
“Cybersecurity is part of reliability,” Padayhag said.
For Davao Light, the goal extends beyond automation and data collection. The company wants its infrastructure to support businesses, industries, and communities as they become increasingly dependent on digital services.
“The utility of the future isn’t purely digital, and it isn’t purely physical,” Padayhag said. “It is the intelligent orchestration of both.” MLSA
