NEA goes solar for Mindanao electrification

Electric cooperatives will push forward with plans to set up more solar home systems in unserved areas, covering 10,000 households in Mindanao within this year.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said the installation of a photovoltaic (PV) mainstreaming system for 5,000 households in the franchise areas of Cotabato Electric Cooperative Inc. and South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc. was on course for completion at the end of June.

The NEA said another batch of 5,000 solar home units was scheduled for delivery and installation also in June, this time in the areas covered by Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. and Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative Inc.

Funded by the European Union’s Access to Sustainable Energy Program (EU-ASEP) through World Bank, the PV mainstreaming program has a second leg that is intended to cover a total of 30,500 households, according to NEA.

Ernesto Silvano Jr., head of NEA’s Office of Renewable Energy and Development, said in a statement the procurement process for this second tranche was still being finalized.

Silvano said home systems for solar power were a viable option for dispersed households located in rural and remote areas that are too far or have no access to the main electricity grid.

Data from NEA show that there are 19,740 sitios across the country that are still without access to electricity, with 1,702 identified as off-grid.

The government is aiming at achieving universal electrification by 2020. Around 9 percent or about 2 million of some 23 million households are still not energized.