December 1, 2019 | 11:54 pm
THE National Power Corp. (Napocor)
said it expects to achieve 100% electricity coverage for all areas it is
responsible for in the next two years.
“By 2022, 24/7 na lahat ng areas. Ang
problema kasi hindi naman sinasabi kung anong areas pa ang dapat lagyan
ng kuryente (By 2022, we expect 24/7 service to all areas. The problem is
that we have no complete picture of which areas still need power),” Napocor
President and Chief Executive Office Pio J. Benavidez said in a chance
interview.
He said the agency’s goal is to turn over to
the private sector all of the power generation facilities that remain overseen
by Napocor.
“It’s roughly 300 megawatts,” he said.
Mr. Benavidez said a proposed law on microgrids
could make the turnover much faster. He was referring to a Senate bill on these
energy systems now going through the scrutiny of the legislature’s technical
working group.
“May mga technology na ngayon na
pwede mong ibaba ang presyo, pasukan mo ng battery, pasukan mo ng
solar — hybrid system (There are technologies that have the potential to lower
prices, like hybrid systems using solar and batteries),” he said.
He said the private companies might be attracted to take over and bring down
the cost of power generation to about P8 per kilowatt-hour from between P11 and
P12 previously.
Under the proposed microgrid legislation, the
Department of Energy will identify areas that are unserved by the franchise
owner for turnover to other providers.
Mr. Benavidez has said that Napocor continues
to step up in meeting the country’s growing power needs, and the developing
technology in renewable energy.
Napocor is to synchronize its 120-kilowatt peak
(kWp) solar installation with an energy storage system in Limasawa Island,
Southern Leyte to the local power grid.
Under its missionary electrification plan,
Napocor identified 17 areas for hybridization with solar photovoltaic and
battery capacity of 1.795 MWp and 1.620 MWh in 2020.
As mandated by the Electric Power Industry
Reform Act of 2001, Napocor powers the off-grid islands through its small power
utilities group, or SPUG, with plants serving 826,000 households. — Victor
V. Saulon
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