Mirant set to complete energization of 170 remote barangays

Mirant Philippines president and CEO J.P. Leviste said the company’s barangay electrification program part of its long-term commitment to the power industry sector. Mirant Philippines, the country’s largest private power producer, expects to  complete the electrification of at least 170 remote barangays by yearend.

"We are simultaneously working on the electrification of several barangays in some of the remotest parts of the country.  We are actively pursuing these projects to help the Philippine government bring the benefits of electricity to the people and hasten the development of their communities," Leviste said.

According to Leviste, providing access to electricity in rural communities in the countryside will help improve the quality of life, uplift socio-economic conditions and jump-start economic activity in selected areas. 

The Mirant official said the company’s electrification program is in coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the government’s overall effort to achieve full barangay electrification by 2008.

Mirant’s rural electrification program is being implemented by Mirant Philippines Foundation.  It is part of the additional 500 barangays the power firm committed to electrify for the 2005-2008 period in accordance with the revised targets of the DOE.  

Leviste said the barangay energization is a commitment reiterated to President Arroyo by Edward Muller, chairman, president and CEO of US parent Mirant Corp. during a recent Manila visit.

In 2005, a total of 147 barangays were energized by Mirant; 133 of these were in Mindanao, 11 in Luzon, and three in the Visayas. Of the 170 barangays to be energized in 2006, around 90 will be in Mindanao, 55 in Luzon, and 25 in the Visayas. The rural electrification program entails the construction of distribution lines to far-flung barangays that do not have access to electricity. 

The program is under Mirant Philippines’ flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) program Barangay Electrification Assistance for Countryside Development (Project Beacon) that has energized over 1,000 barangays from 2001 to 2004 in 33 provinces at a cost of over P1 billion.

Over 11,000 kilometers of distribution lines were put up – roughly the distance between Manila and Los Angeles – across the various parts of the country.  It is the largest ever CSR program undertaken by the private sector in the country.

Mirant Philippines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Mirant Corp., owns over 2,000 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity in the Philippines.