Napocor ‘hybridization’ project gets under way

MANILA, Philippines — National Power Corp. (Napocor) is getting ready to bid out contracts to build renewable energy facilities in remote areas under its Accelerated Hybridization Program.

Napocor President and CEO Fernando Martin Roxas said the state-run corporation was finalizing the bidding documents and was hoping to invite bids for the contracts by next month.

Under AHP, the private sector will be tapped to build renewable generation plants or facilities to supplement, augment, or replace the existing diesel power plants operated by Napocor’s small power utilities group (SPUG).

Napocor will buy the power that will be generated by these renewable energy plants under 20-year contracts.

“It is technologically agnostic, as long as it is an RE plant, depending on the location. We will pay them the SAGR (Subsidized Approved Generation Rate),” he said.

READ: Napocor backs offgrid renewable power dev’t

Napocor has initially identified 23 clusters of SPUG plants that can test the concept. Up for grabs are the plants in Tawi Tawi and Batanes provinces, Bicol, and El Nido town in Palawan province.

“If this is successful, we will think about applying it to the rest of other power plants,” he said.

Napocor had unveiled its goal to have all SPUG plants running purely on renewable energy by 2030 at the latest.