Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Coal-fired plant providing solar power to poor Quezon residents



By John Bello -

PAGBILAO, Quezon—A coal-fired power plant here is providing solar power to poor residents.
Around 145 individuals in Sitio Daungang Pari, a small and secluded community, are the beneficiaries of the 10-watt, peak solar-home lighting systems equipped with two lightbulbs, a solar panel and a cell-phone charger.
The residents of the sitio are experiencing the benefits of electricity in their households for the first time as they received 29 solar-home systems from TeaM Energry Foundation Inc. (Tefi) through its Light-A-Home project, said Ricky de Castro, Tefi executive director.
“The Light-A-Home project was conceptualized in order to provide electricity to the underserved communities that did not qualify in the government’s criteria for their electrification program,” said de Castro, adding the program is Tefi’s way of partnering with the government in helping fully energize even the most remote areas of the country.
TeamEnergy Corp. (TEC) runs the 430-MW coal-fired power plant in Barangay Iba, Polo. It was originally Hopewell Power Corp. in the 1990s when it started operation during the administration of then-Gov. Eduardo Rodriguez.
TEC is bruited about as representing one of the biggest Japanese investments in the country, which is run by a predominantly Filipino work force.
Tefi is the social development arm of TEC, a partnership between two Japanese firms Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Marubeni Corp. It also operates a bigger 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant in  Sual, Pangasinan.

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