acciona.org in Philippines extends its energy services to 12,000 people in remote communities

acciona.org in the Philippines quadrupled the number of beneficiaries of its renewable electricity services to nearly 12,000 people in 2024. The nonprofit organization helped 2,608 households, as well as small businesses, schools and community centers, in 48 rural communities without connections to conventional grids.

acciona.org’s impact in the Philippines in 2024 resulted in a significant improvement in people’s living conditions:

Poverty reduction. Households benefited from energy cost savings of more than 35% compared to previous expenditure, as well as additional income through the development of productive activities, totaling 18.5 million Philippine pesos (€290,000).

Health and hygiene. Solar home systems with batteries provided up to 12 hours of electric lighting per day to households, businesses, schools and other community centers in the Philippines (5.31 million hours of lighting in total), thus preventing illnesses caused by smoke and low light intensity from candles, kerosene, firewood, etc. In addition, acciona.org electric service powered the telehealth services in a community which has provided them access to doctors and specialists.

Education. A total of 4,600 school-age children can devote more time to their studies every day, which entails more than 250,000 hours of additional education, thanks to electric lighting at night. 

Local economy. acciona.org’s six customer service centers in the Philippines offer advice and service management, as well as the supply of spare parts, accessories and household appliances. Reliable services encourage the creation of local stores, restaurants and craft and sewing workshops.

Gender equity. acciona.org promotes the inclusion of women in decision-making and project management. At year-end, 50 Philippine women participated in the delegate bodies promoted in each community to manage and supervise the services. The six customer service centers are managed by women.

Preservation of the environment. The solar home systems that power households and community centers in the Philippines prevented the release of 795 tonnes of CO2 emissions last year compared to fossil fuel use. Access to electricity prevented environmental degradation due to firewood collection and unhygienic waste disposal.

TWO YEARS OF ACTIVITY

During the past year, the foundation expanded its electricity services in the province of Palawan, with the collaboration of the Ayala Foundation and co-financing from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). More than 2,000 new households in rural communities of El Nido and Roxas obtained the energy supply from solar home systems with batteries in 2024; these families have shown high rates of satisfaction with the service and have highlighted various advantages, such as an increase in income. acciona.org started its first Philippine project in 2022 in El Nido and its services experienced significant growth in only two years.

acciona.org stands out for its social and sustainable management model that gets the local population involved. The foundation creates local committees with the communities to make decisions related to the projects and to manage and supervise the services. Affordable fees ensure that the services are sustainable over time, as they fund technical assistance, repair, spare parts and maintenance, managed through the customer service centers. acciona.org always remains linked to the services, supporting the local entities.

ACCIONA’s corporate foundation reached over 161,000 beneficiaries of its services worldwide last year. acciona.org began operations in South Africa and the Dominican Republic, two new countries in addition to Peru, Mexico, Panama, Chile, the Philippines, Ethiopia and Spain. The foundation extended its scope to productive development projects, which add economic activity initiatives, and to the field of humanitarian aid, with the implementation of its electricity service model in refugee camps and the development of the REact web tool to design renewable energy solutions for humanitarian interventions in alliance with Action against Hunger.

ADVT. 

This article is brought to you by Acciona.