The Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has released an invitation to bid on the construction, installation, and maintenance and operations of microgrids in support of its 2023-2032 National Total Electrification Roadmap (NTER). Contact online >>
The Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has released an invitation to bid on the construction, installation, and maintenance and operations of microgrids in support of its 2023-2032 National Total Electrification Roadmap (NTER).
The NTER, which was released at the same time as the invitation to bid, outlines how electrification efforts, including the construction of microgrids, will deliver reliable, secure electricity at reasonable rates to all Filipino households by 2028.
The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelago made up of 7,461 islands. The nation''s physical landscape presents significant electrification challenges, especially when it comes to connecting remote communities to the national grid.
Currently, nearly 4 million Filipino households are deemed either unserved or underserved by the nation''s power infrastructure, and many of them are in remote rural areas.
According to the DOE, more than 1.2 million households are unserved, or in locations with no electricity access, including access to distribution lines, individual home systems or a connection to a microgrid.
The remaining 2.7 million live in underserved areas, and while they do have access to electricity services, it''s not on a 24/7 basis.
The government created the NTER because it recognized that improving access to reliable electricity will not only reduce poverty and increase quality of life in these areas, it will have a positive effect on the country as a whole.
A microgrid is a smaller version of the electric power grid that serves a defined area like a neighborhood or a remote area. Microgrids typically utilize multiple distributed energy sources such as solar, energy storage batteries, gas or diesel generators or even the grid.
Every microgrid has a controller that optimizes how the connected power sources are used based on the operator''s goals – typically a combination of increasing electric reliability and resilience, decreasing emissions and reducing energy costs.
Because microgrids can be designed to be either grid-connected or operate completely off grid, the technology is well-suited to meet the electricity needs of both the unserved and underserved communities.
Remote microgrids, or those used in areas without access to a central grid, are popular in difficult to electrify areas, such as rural communities in Africa.
In the Philippines, the Microgrid Systems Act (MGSA), more formally known as Republic Act No. 11646 or The Act of Promoting the Use of Microgrid Systems to Accelerate the Total Electrification of Unserved and Underserved Areas Nationwide, was signed into law in early 2022.
The invitation to bid is the DOE''s first step in implementing the NTER and the MGSA. Through the bidding process, the DOE is looking to identify qualified candidates to provide the construction, installation, and maintenance and operations, including customer billing and collections, of microgrid systems across the designated service areas.
The initial auction will be broken into 49 lots covering 98 unserved or underserved areas of the country. It is expected that more than 15,000 households will benefit from the microgrids built in this first wave.
"The implementation of MGSA is poised to play a big role in the electricity ecosystem and power distribution and generation in underserved and unserved areas of the country," according to a statement released by the DOE.
Expression of interest submissions are due by 5 p.m. Manila time on Nov. 15, and bidders will be notified of their prequalification status by Nov. 21. The DOE will host a prebid conference for qualified bidders on Nov. 29.
Additional information on the invitation to bid, including eligibility requirements, is available on the Philippine DOE website.
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Nearly 4 million Filipino households are either unserved or underserved by the nation’s power grid. However, the country has just taken a big step in achieving its goal of fully electrifying those homes.
After concluding its first round of a competitive selection process, the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) recently named the Maharlika Consortium a microgrid systems service provider.
The consortium will develop microgrids in eight unserved areas in the Cebu, Quezon and Palawan areas. The hybrid microgrid systems, which are expected to include solar, energy storage and diesel generators, must provide 24/7 electricity to the areas served.
They also must be operational within 18 months of the contract signing with National Power Corporation, the government-owned grid operator in the Philippines.
“The rates to be imposed in these areas will be subject to the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission and will be provided with a subsidy under the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification for a period of 20 years,” according to a statement from the DOE.
Missionary electrification refers to off-grid regions where grid connectivity has been deemed unviable.
The award is the first in support of the country’s Microgrid Systems Act of 2022, more formally known as Republic Act No. 11646 or the Act of Promoting the Use of Microgrid Systems to Accelerate the Total Electrification of Unserved and Underserved Areas Nationwide.
Bids were due in mid-November 2023 and the Maharlika Consortium, which is comprised of Maharlika Clean Power Holdings, CleanGrid Partners and WEnergy Global, was the only bidder.
A second round of bidding is expected to be held within the next twelve months.
Considering the physical landscape of the Philippines, which is an archipelago made up of 7,461 islands, it’s perhaps not surprising that remote communities lack access to the grid and reliable electricity.
According to the Philippine DOE, more than 1.2 million households in the country, or 9% of the country’s population, have no access to electricity, distribution lines, individual home systems or a connection to a microgrid.
Another 2.7 million do not have reliable access to electricity on a 24/7 basis.
"Microgrids are a critical infrastructure for the electrification of our rural communities,” said Sen. Win Gatchalian, the principal author of the Microgrid Systems Act. He is encouraging the DOE to “further expedite the development of microgrids to help propel the electrification of unserved and underserved areas.”
Section 1. Title. � This Act shall be referred to as the �Microgrid Systems Act�.
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. � It is hereby declared the policy of the State to:
(c) Promote private sector participation in the electrification of unserved and underserved areas;
(a) Prioritize low-cost, indigenous, renewable, and environment-friendly sources of energy;
(a) Priority low-cost, indigenous, renewable, and environment-friendly sources of energy;
(b) Be simple, uniform, streamlined, and transparent; and
(e) Monitor the compliance of all MGSPs with their obligations under their respective ATOs; and
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