More than 1,500 remote PH schools to get solar power

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THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Department of Education (DepEd) entered into a partnership to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in schools in far-flung areas without reliable access to electricity.

NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda signed a memorandum of agreement yesterday with DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara in the presence of Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla and University of the Philippines (UP) President Angelo Jimenez.

Under the agreement, DepEd is tasked with identifying and prioritizing schools needing electrification, facilitating the necessary permits from concerned local government units, and providing counterpart logistical and financial support to execute the project.

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NEA, through its partner electric cooperatives (ECs), will provide technical assistance in setting up the solar PV panels, monitoring its system and conducting further evaluations to ensure the project’s completion.

NEA and DepEd will jointly oversee the implementation of the program, with its funding to be drawn from various sources, including national or local government allocations, private institution grants and partnerships, or other approved financial mechanisms.

Lotilla said during the signing ceremony that around 1,500 “last mile” public schools in the Philippines still do not have electricity. 

About 98 percent of all public schools in the country already enjoy power services, he noted.

Meanwhile, Angara said initial sites of the partnership will be dependent on NEA’s rollout, but most underserved and unserved areas are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

At present, the top three provinces where most public schools are not connected to power services are Palawan, North Cotabato and Sulu, Angara said, adding the target is to complete the program in one to two years.

According to Almeda, a prototype model of the solar PV system to be utilized is already available.

“We commissioned UP College of Engineering to prepare a prototype model of the solar PV with battery system. Last mile schools either have two, four, six or eight classrooms. What UP did was to create a prototype for two classrooms costing around P1.6 million including the supply and installation of solar panels and batteries,” Almeda explained.

He said they also eyeing to tender biddings for the program within the first quarter of the year.

Under the program, NEA said ECs are mandated to refrain from imposing any charges, fees or cost in relation to the maintenance and sustainability of the solar PV modules.

NEA serves as a supervisory body to all 121 ECs nationwide.

The agency regularly monitors distribution system parameters of ECs such as systems loss and reliability, circuit kilometers and substation capacity to ensure they remain operationally reliant and technically efficient in delivering services.

NEA has also been offering financial assistance to ECs through its enhanced lending program consisting of regular, calamity and concessional loans, stand-by and short-term credit loans, single-digit system loss, renewable energy and modular generator set loans. 

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