A local clean energy player has called on local government units (LGUs) to consider micro-grid developments in the hopes of strengthening the Philippines’ electrification program.
Roger Chua of Lux Illumina Verde Energy Solutions (Lives) said they are encouraging LGUs to consider micro-grid systems to fast-track electrification especially in remote areas.
Chua said providing affordable and reliable energy power to all islands can be a challenge especially for a country like the Philippines that is regularly visited by typhoons.
Micro-grid systems allow for independent operations outside of a national grid, allowing small communities to get access to electricity through local sources and prevent power disruptions affecting the national grid.
The Philippine government aims to achieve 100 percent electrification by 2022.
According to a report gathered by chair of Senate committee on Energy Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, around 2.3 million households or 16 percent of the country’s households are still not connected to the power grid.
Mindanao holds the majority of the unelectrified population with 1.3 million; Luzon with 529,952 households; and Visayas with 524,040 households.
Chua said the country can utilize privately managed micro-grid systems to fill the gap.
He stressed that this system has already been applied to some fishing communities and off-grid areas in the country.
Through micro-grid, fishermen can now store their catch longer, improving their livelihood.
“This is helpful, especially during typhoon seasons when they can’t go fishing,” Chua said in a statement in a Sun star report.
Approximately 150 households can be powered by a micro-grid system, but the number of households that would be connected depends on the distances between houses, Chua said.