DOE to bid out P58 M solar lighting projects

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) will spend as much as P58 million for a portion of the Household Electrification Program in far-flung areas.

In a public notice, the DOE said it is looking for bidders for the contract to supply solar lighting systems worth P57.929 million. Interested bidders should buy bid documents for P5,000.

Specifically, the DOE invited bidders that will provide 3,400 units of photovoltaic solar home systems with a capacity of 30-wattpeak (Wp), 55 units of photovoltaic streetlights at 75 Wp and 15 units of photovoltaic solar home systems at 75 Wp.

The winning bidders should also conduct technical trainings for end-users.

“To qualify, bidders must have completed in the Philippines during the last five years a single contract that is similar to the project, the amount of which is 50 percent of the approved budget of the project,” the DOE said.

A pre-bid conference is scheduled on Nov. 7 to discuss the technical aspects of the auction. Bid opening is scheduled on Nov. 21.

Last year, the government was able to electrify 1,125 sitios that benefited 31,000 households nationwide.

The DOE has allotted around P5 billion for rural electrification efforts. In July, the agency sought almost P125 million worth of solar lighting systems for power far-flung areas.

According to data from the DOE, 33 baranggays remained un-electrified as of last December – 17 in Luzon and 16 in Mindanao.

The DOE is targeting 100 percent baranggay electrification and 90 percent household electrification by 2017 in line with the Energy Reform Agenda.

The proponents of the rural electrification program include distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, the small power utilities group of the National Power Corp., qualified third parties and other service providers that employ decentralized options such as solar home systems and mini-grid, among others.