TeaM Energy nears completion of power project in Quezon

MANILA, Philippines - TeaM Energy Corp. is nearing the completion of its rural electrification program in Quezon province, a top company official said.

Federico E. Puno, TeaM Energy president and CEO, said the program, being undertaken in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Quezon II Electric Cooperative, started in 2010.

The project, he said, has led to the electrification of 3,400 households in the Polilio Group of Islands through solar power.

Utilizing a substantial grant from the DOE, TeaM Energy Foundation Inc. (TEFI), the corporate social responsibility arm of TeaM Energy, made possible the installation of solar home systems in the three municipalities in Polilio Island, namely Burdeos, Panukulan and Patnanungan. 

These systems, Puno said, are facilitated and managed by Renewable Energy and Community Development Associations (RECDAs) formed prior to the introduction of the solar energy systems in the area.

The barangays are considered among the most inaccessible places in the country, especially during the wet months when giant waves pummel motorized outrigger boats that are the only means of transport to connect them to the Quezon mainland.

In the past, small genset operators provided electric services in the area but had proved unsustainable given the rising cost of diesel fuel. Aside from being expensive, service was oftentimes unreliable.

“We are hoping that the benefits of electricity will be fully harnessed to help improve the quality of life of the beneficiaries,” said Puno.

TEFI executive director Roderick de Castro observed that farmers and fishermen now enjoy longer productive hours as a result of access to electricity as provided by the project.  

Others, he said, have begun to set-up rural micro-businesses that would not have been possible without electricity.

“Slowly we are seeing an economic transformation take place in Polilio,” he said.

TEFI also spent over P20 million to contract local NGOs and do ground work themselves on community profiling, organizing and assessment activities.