With high power rates and recurrent outages plaguing the island grid, some consumers and government offices which have installed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are now reaping dividends from their considerable investments.
According to the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO), a little less than 200 residential consumers are using solar PV systems not only to realize savings in power consumption but also to avoid intermittent service interruptions.
With the cooperative entering into an Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) with Sunwest Water & Electricity Co. (SUWECO) that pushed the cost of electricity and increased monthly bills by as much as 60 percent, residents who plunked more than P200,000 into solar PV systems are at least contented that they don’t have to pay as much.
“We will implement net metering once the policy and its implementing guidelines are drafted and approved by the board,” General Manager Engr. Francis A. Gianan said, referring to the scheme that allows electricity end-users with renewable energy systems like a solar PV to sell unused electricity to the grid.
He added that there is also a need to coordinate with municipal engineers of all local government units regarding the implementation of net metering as they have responsibilities to fulfill under the net metering guidelines approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
This development comes as the Department of Energy (DOE) pushed for the use of solar power in all government buildings nationwide.
In a meeting with registered solar PV installers in Taguig City last week, DOE Undersecretary William Fuentebella called on the private sector to help achieve its ambitious goal of installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in all government buildings.
He said that the initiative will not only reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions but also create new job opportunities.
Beyond government buildings, the DOE’s commitment extends to ensuring universal access to electricity. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s goal of nationwide electrification by 2028 is being pursued through the strategic deployment of Solar Home Systems (SHS), Usec. Fuentebella stated.
In 2019, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Catanduanes District Engineering Office then headed by District Engineer Gil Augustus Balmadrid installed a 100-kWp solar PV system on the roof of its main building for about P10 million.
The off-grid system provided 10 kWp of solar power for its IT department 24/7 and 90 kWp to run all air conditioning units of the main building during daytime, which saw its monthly power bills reduced by 30 percent.
However, the solar PV system has not been working or installed for some time now, a DPWH source said, due to a defective solar power inverter.
The inverter is a key component of the system as it converts or inverts the direct current (DC) energy produced by a solar panel into Alternate Current (AC).
The source claimed that despite repeated requests, DE Simon Arias and his recent predecessors have refused to allocate funds for the procurement of a replacement inverter, which can be bought on the open market for about P100,000.
The only government office in Catanduanes with a working renewable power source is the Catanduanes State University, which in 2022 became the first state-run higher educational institution in the country to have its own solar farm and microgrid.
Built during the stint of then President Patrick Alain T. Azanza, the P45.5 million off-grid facility consists of 514 solar panels installed by a Manila-based company on a one-hectare lot, with a building housing 28 lithium-ion batteries and inverters as well as a 750-kVA back-up diesel generator.
It currently serves 12 buildings inside the campus and produces between 80 to 120 kilowatts daily, generating savings of P120,000 to P200,000 in monthly power bills.
Engr. Bernard Rubio, who oversees the microgrid operation, said that a few outlying buildings like the Abaca Technology and Innovation Center (ATIC) have their own rooftop solar power systems while the engineering, health sciences, agriculture, and dormitory buildings still get their electricity from FICELCO.
He said there is still a proposal for the microgrid’s expansion still pending before the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
In 2022, the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) had agreed to provide a standby loan for the university to build a P55 million hybrid on-grid solar power plant in Panganiban Campus to cater to the proposed Agri-Industrial Economic Zone locators, with the excess power to be sold to the cooperative.
While the recently inaugurated multi-story Viga municipal hall is designed to have a rooftop solar PV system, lack of funds prevented its completion.
Most of the solar PV systems installed in Catanduanes power water pumps (Viga LGU and Bato Water District) and deep well water supply projects built by DPWH in different barangays.
There have been a number of proposals in the past regarding solar power projects intending to supply the island grid but none have materialized.
The share of renewable power, mostly from SUWECO’s hydroelectric plants in Hitoma and Solong, in the grid production has fallen to 1,900 kWh, far short of the 3,600 kWh total dependable capacity, due to defects.
Only Palumbanes island in Caramoran enjoys uninterrupted power coming from the National Power Corporation’s P18-million Solar Photovoltaic-Diesel Hybrid System that generates 40-kWp from 84 solar panels and an Energy Storage System (ESS).
A pioneer in the local solar PV field, Bicol Solar Den, accounts for about 40 percent of the households installed with solar PV systems costing an average of P200,000 each.
The cheaper ones range from P30,000 to P60,000, with electricity produced enough to power lighting and a few appliances.
Solar PV systems powerful enough to run aircon units require 12 solar panels and above and cost P200,000 up at present prices.
Most are hybrid systems, with the solar power in its batteries kicking in once during a power outage in the grid.
The household systems range from 3kWp to as much as 120kWp, a consultant of the company said, with the solar panels expected to last for 25 years and the inverter replacement coming in about seven years.
Regular maintenance includes removing dust from the panel and the inverter as well as removing the panels ahead of an incoming typhoon.
Around five to six individuals and companies in Catanduanes are engage in the business but a check of the DOE website shows that as of October 2024, only 76 companies are on the list of registered solar PV installers in the country, with only one coming from the Bicol region: Solargy Solutions based in Naga City.
The registry serves as reference and guide for interested government entities in the assessment and installation of Solar PV Systems in their respective buildings and facilities.