Its partnership with COREnergy, the retail electricity supplier (RES) of Vivant Energy, has generated savings on its power bills, helping reduce utility costs and ease pressure on menu prices.
“We want the menu offers to be accessible and affordable to all the Filipinos. We offer you safe and quality food. And it has become quite challenging to maintain our profit margin lately because of the fuel price increases,” McDonald’s Philippines managing director Margot B. Torres said at a recent news conference in Cebu.
“We had to find ways to optimize our operation. And that's precisely where COREnergy comes in. It is a significant savings on utilities for us.”
Torres said the company had to find other ways to keep prices down, noting that utilities account for about 6 percent to 7 percent of sales, with electricity making up 72 percent of total utility expenses.
Savings
Since shifting to COREnergy, each of the 17 participating stores has cut its monthly power bill by at least 10 percent, equivalent to savings of about P52,000. Actual savings may vary depending on location and prevailing distribution utility rates.
“We want to keep the sulit busog meals for the Filipino and the snack and match especially for the students. That's why we're very grateful to Vivant and COREnergy for this partnership because it's helping us. We want to continue to thrive,” Torres said.
McDonald’s currently has 38 stores across Cebu, including two that opened this year in Barangay Marigondon in Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island and Barangay Tipolo in Mandaue City. Five more are set to open before the end of 2026.
Torres said McDonald’s was keen to expand further in the Visayas and Mindanao, where it currently operates about 100 and 75 restaurants, respectively. Combined, these account for about 20 percent of McDonald’s nationwide network of 862 restaurants.
“That is really a sign that we are very committed to expanding in Cebu,” she said.
High-growth market
Torres said the Philippines now ranks among McDonald’s 10 largest markets worldwide in terms of store count and among its five fastest-growing markets.
She said China is McDonald’s fastest-growing market, followed by Japan and Brazil, with India and the Philippines rounding out the top five.
“We’re not just a big market. We’re also a high-growth market,” Torres said.
As its network expands, McDonald’s continues to invest in energy-efficient solutions to reduce operating costs and support the sustainable, long-term growth of its restaurants.
Expansion
McDonald’s Philippines is expanding its partnership with COREnergy to cover 23 more restaurants across the Visayas and Mindanao, representing a combined contestable load of about 2.2 megawatts.
The expansion will cover 10 restaurants in Leyte and Western Visayas and 13 in Northern Mindanao and the Davao Region. It will bring the total number of McDonald’s restaurants supplied by COREnergy to 59, building on a partnership announced earlier this year.
Under the Retail Competition and Open Access framework, qualified electricity consumers can choose their electricity suppliers.
The Retail Aggregation Program (RAP) allows businesses with multiple electricity accounts, such as McDonald’s, to consolidate their power requirements and purchase electricity collectively from a licensed retail electricity supplier.
The latest agreement is part of McDonald’s broader rollout of RAP across its restaurant network.
By year-end, McDonald’s aims to transition about 64 percent of its RAP-eligible restaurant portfolio to the program, allowing a significant share of its network to benefit from more competitive electricity rates and greater cost predictability.
The arrangement is expected to help McDonald’s better manage one of its major operating expenses as it continues to expand nationwide.
Expanded partnership
For COREnergy, the expanded partnership reflects its push to serve more businesses beyond its established presence in the Visayas and provide customers across southern Philippines with competitively priced, reliable and sustainable electricity.
“As McDonald’s continues to grow, we are proud to grow alongside them,” COREnergy president Francis del Val said.
“Supporting an organization of McDonald’s scale is both a privilege and a responsibility. Behind every store we power are Filipino families who expect the same fast, consistent, quality experience. That is a responsibility we take seriously,” he added.
COREnergy vice president and head of operations Marko Sarmiento said the industrial and manufacturing sectors account for the largest share of the company’s customer base, although it also serves commercial establishments and businesses in other sectors.
While NUSTAR Resort Cebu remains COREnergy’s largest account to date in terms of actual capacity, Sarmiento said the company also serves large Cebu-based businesses and several schools.
“We’re very proud to carry Cebuano brands because, at the end of the day, Vivant is a Cebuano company,” Sarmiento said. “We want to make sure our presence is felt heavily here in Cebu and, ultimately, throughout the Visayas.” —Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
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