Solar energy set for off-grid sitios

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines— Solar energy will provide power to off-grid sitios in the coverage area of the Negros Oriental Electric Cooperative II from Basay to Pamplona towns.

Lourdes Arciaga, Visayas coordinator of the Household Electrification Program of the Department of Energy, said beneficiaries of the program from eight barangays in Siaton town and one in Sta. Catalina will undergo a three-day capacity building seminar on handling solar power.

The first batch of 601 households, who were recipients of the Solar Homes Systems, were being trained on basic operation and trouble-shooting as well as on simple bookkeeping and financial management, as they will contribute P200 monthly each to sustain the program.

The next batch of 182 households will come from three barangays in Sta. Catalina while 2,989 households in 19 barangays of Bayawan City will have their units installed during the first quarter of 2015.

Arciaga said the government has allotted P156 million for this year’s budget all over the country under the HEP with 10,400 households targeted for installation with the SHS.

She explained the project is in coordination with electric cooperatives, which role is to issue certification that it was unable to provide electric power lines to identified areas in two-year time.

Once installed, the SHS will be turned over to NORECO 2 for monitoring and technical assistance. One unit of the SHS costs P18,000.

It consists of one 30-watt solar panel, three units of 3-watt LED lights and a unit of one-watt LED light. It has a built-in AM-FM radio, a cellphone charger and a USB MP3 player.

NORECO 2 general manager Dionefred Macahig said that out of 272 barangays in its coverage area, only two remained without electric power lines because the area was inaccessible by vehicles. These are barangays Apoloy and Mantiquil, all in Siaton.

However, Macahig said that, with the HEP, the NORECO 2 will be supporting the government in providing alternative energy, such as the SHS, for the un-serviced areas. (FREEMAN)