EU-backed rural electrification project gains ground

MANILA  -Electric cooperatives (ECs) in rural communities have successfully energized agricultural infrastructure and more than 3,000 households as part of a recently concluded European Union-led project, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) announced.

According to NEA, the Integration of Productive Uses of Renewable Energy (I-PURE) project helped power various infrastructure, including corn and coffee processing facilities, as well as water systems and millers, through solar energy.

Under the first component of the P270.6-million I-PURE project, NEA and ECs were required to implement electrification programs for the agriculture and fishing industries in North and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Tawi-Tawi.

These were under the service areas of Cotabato Electric Cooperative Inc. and Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative Inc.

In Lanao del Norte province, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), together with community-based organizations, the local government and Mindanao State University, installed solar panels for seaweed dryers, according to NEA.

The second component of the project, meanwhile, energized 3,077 households through solar photovoltaic mainstreaming systems.

“The NEA, ECs and other organizations involved in the implementation of the I-PURE projects are expected to gather in a closing ceremony … this November to wrap up all deliverables in the program,“ NEA said in a statement.

The EU has also partnered with MinDA, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and other stakeholders of island communities to implement the Barangay Line Enhancement and Household Electrification project.

A total of 2,184 homes in Tawi-Tawi are expected to benefit from the project.

The I-PURE program, launched in 2021, aims to improve the economic and social conditions of marginalized communities in Mindanao through alternative and sustainable sources of power, NEA said.