Funds readied for full power
Responding to the query of the Daily Tribune, Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla said government funding for the proposed hybrid system in these off-grid areas is underway
The Department of Energy has closely coordinated with the Departments of Finance and Budget and Management to secure funding for projects to connect the off-grid islands of Masbate, Mindoro, and Palawan to the national electricity backbone.
Responding to the query of the Daily Tribune, Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla said government funding for the proposed hybrid system in these off-grid areas is underway.
“We can assure you that the government is doing its best and the DoF and DBM are working with us to provide necessary bridge financing. For the medium and long term, there are reforms needed such as hybrid systems,” Lotilla said.
“There were proposals to connect off grids like the connection of Mindoro to Luzon, filed way back in 2011 and it was not acted upon. In the meantime, the National Power Corporation has built a circumferential transmission on the island of Mindoro,” he added.
Unrealized potentials
Lotilla also pointed out that the island of Mindoro alone has a vast untapped potential.
Mindoro is an off-grid island, which means that it is not connected to the main Luzon grid controlled and operated by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
In 2021, the NGCP had proposed to build a P2.2-billion power network connecting these islands to the main Luzon grid — it included the plan to construct the Batangas-Mindoro interconnection project worth P16.87 billion.
In the meantime, the DoE said it will ensure that the implementation of policies pushing for off-grid development such as off-grid electrification, renewable portfolio standards, and omnibus guidelines in enhancing power development, are properly enforced.
Based on the updated Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028, the government will enhance the market’s ability to coordinate investment in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure and achieve total electrification across the country.
As outlined in the plan, the government will also facilitate the upgrading and modernization of transmission and distribution lines to support the efficient transition to cleaner energy.
It vowed to resolve transmission congestion, especially between Luzon and the Visayas grid, whether by adding transmission lines or avoiding subsidies that cause the build-up of excess capacity.
“Once the government has the needed fiscal space, it should revisit and reevaluate financing investment in transmission. Financing and investment will be separated from the regulatory structure of transmission tariffs,” the plan read.
“Investment in transmission expansion offers enormous potential benefits for efficiency by increasing access to low-cost generation, improving reliability, and counterbalancing market power,” it added.
Ultimately, by 2028, government regulators hope to efficiently deliver energy to consumers in missionary areas.