Electricity reaches remote areas in Palawan

Several remote areas in Palawan will benefit from the government’s rural electrification efforts with the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between government and private sector.

Through an innovative partnership agreement, micro finance institution Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, solar service provider World Water Philippines, Inc. (WWP) and the Rural Power Project (RPP) under the Department of Energy have agreed to work together to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, a clean source of energy.

The MOA affirms the relationship between the PV company and the micro-finance institutions (MFIs) in developing solar lending on a commercial scale.

While the MFI provides credit and micro-financing to qualified consumers for the acquisition of solar PV systems, WWP passes on the DOE subsidy in its entirety to the consumer in the form of price reduction from the normal selling price. It will also undertake the actual marketing, sale, delivery, installation, and provision of effective after-sales services.

The RPP is a World Bank and Global Environment Facility assisted project that seeks to provide electricity to 90 percent of barangay households by 2017. PV companies are carefully selected to ensure that only quality PV systems are installed in barangays and households.

RPP is making the solar PVs affordable to rural households through a government subsidy. People are also given training on maintenance and operation of the system.

"In Palawan, we have a social responsibility in providing electricity to remote areas," an official of another participating MFI said.

While the cost of the PV system is a major factor, families and communities are more concerned with its life span, safety features, limitations of the system and maintenance requirements.

For most MFIs, solar lending has been a profitable venture with a bonus. They see it as an excellent opportunity to assist families and communities improve the standard of living as electricity triggers social and economic development. With the goal of corporate social responsibility in mind, these MFIs believe that business should not only gear for profit but also growth of families and community.

"As an MFI, it is a fulfillment of our goal to see how lives change and improve with electricity. This is very important in the rural areas of Palawan which electric cooperatives cannot service," Epifanio Magbanua stated. Magbanua, board chairman of Cooperative Bank of Palawan, said Palawenos have been clamoring for electricity to be able to sustain a stable economic activity. The Cooperative Bank of Palawan is also a participating MFI in the area.

To date, other MFIs involved in RPP include Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Inc., Cooperative Bank of Palawan, Enterprise Bank, Inc., Hometown Financing Corp., Rural Bank of Mabitac (Laguna), Rural Bank of Caraga, Inc., Progressive Bank, and Taytay sa Kauswagan, Inc. Other PV companies include Solar Electric Company (Solarco), Shell Solar Philippines, and GenDiesel.

The MOA signing was held at the Puerto Princesa National High School with NWTF deputy director for administration and finance Suzette D. Gaston representing the MFI, WWP president John D. Herrman for PV service provider and RPP-project management office director Mylene Capongcol.