April 23,
2020 | 12:04 am
THE
National Electrification Administration (NEA) said its off-grid solar project
to power far-flung communities faces delay as the global coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupts trade.
In a
statement on Wednesday, the agency tasked to power rural communities said the
solar photovoltaic (PV) mainstreaming project saw a delay in the delivery of
solar panels coming from China.
“The
competitive bidding process and the awarding of contracts to the successful
bidders have already been completed. We are just awaiting delivery of solar
panels, which will be coming from China,” said Ernesto O. Silvano, Jr., acting
manager of NEA’s total electrification and renewable energy development
department.
The solar
project under NEA’s expanded household electrification program seeks to cover
around 5,000 households that are deemed “unviable” for grid connection in the
next five years.
The
agency allotted P153 million for its implementation.
Households
that will benefit from the project are those in the coverage areas of five
electric cooperatives: Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Camarines
Sur IV Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Iloilo III Electric Cooperative, Inc.;
Cotabato Electric Cooperative, Inc.; and Zamboanga del Norte Electric
Cooperative, Inc.
These
power cooperatives are set to receive 5,039 solar home system units, which
provide cost-effective means to supply electricity to communities not connected
to power grids.
The
project is part of NEA’s target this year to power 775 sitios or rural
villages, as well as 38 resettlement sites by local government units.
As of
2018, there are around 19,740 unpowered sitios across the country, 1,702 of
which were classified as off-grid.
This
year, the government allotted P1.53 billion for the agency’s electrification
projects, which include its sitio electrification program.
Providing
electricity to a sitio, NEA noted, costs at least P1.5 million on average.
— Adam J. Ang
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