Residents of Caramoan town in Camarines Sur enjoyed uninterrupted power supply during Severe Tropical Storm Kristine's onslaught due to its microgrid system. Contact online >>
Residents of Caramoan town in Camarines Sur enjoyed uninterrupted power supply during Severe Tropical Storm Kristine''s onslaught due to its microgrid system.
Lopez-led FP Island Energy Corp. (FP Island) said Tuesday that while Haponan island on the north coast of Caramoan was one of the areas in Bicol first hit by Kristine, electricity remained available for its 600 residents despite the non-stop rain and wind gusts.
Haponan Island''s electricity comes from a microgrid—a small yet self-sufficient energy system that FP Island established in December 2021.
It consists of a renewable energy component (solar energy with battery) and a conventional power source (a diesel generator set).
Microgrid systems are able to respond to the country''s electrification needs by providing services in remote areas of the country not connected to the main grid and not easily accessible by large power distribution utilities.
FP Island operates two other microgrids in the nearby islands of Lahuy and Quinalasag with about 2,400 residents combined.
These microgrids were preemptively shut down before Kristine made landfall, normal operations resumed in 11 of the 13 barangays 48 hours after the storm passed and the winds died down.
"Despite the strength of the typhoon, the generators and distribution lines sustained minimal damage from the winds and fallen trees," said Larry Evangelista, FP Island general manager.
Residents either did not have electricity or relied on diesel-fired generators that ran only for a few hours each day prior to the operation of the FP Island microgrids.
Haponan, Lahuy and Quinalasag residents have enjoyed 24/7 electricity since the microgrid installation in late 2021.
This enabled significant community livelihood activities, which otherwise would have been impossible without electricity such as ice-making, internet access, doing business online, printing services, multimedia learning for teachers and students, and mobile phone charging.
FP Island''s microgrids support the nationwide electrification goal of the government as provided under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act in 2001 or Epira allowing a private corporation like FP Island to be a qualified third party (QTP) to provide electricity services in remote areas of the country.
FP Island is a sister company of First Gen Corp., the country''s leading provider of clean and renewable energy.
First Gen and FP Island offer regenerative solutions to customers that share a common commitment to protect the environment.
MANILA— The Lopez-led FP Island Energy Corp said Thursday it has brought round-the-clock electricity in 3 remote islands in Camarines Sur with the completion of its microgrid projects.
In a statement, the microgrid developer said it has completed its projects in the islands of Haponan and Lahuy in Caramoan and Quinasalag in Garchitorena.FP Island Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of the First Philippine Holdings Corp, said its microgrids, under the Qualified Third Party (QTP) program of the Department of Energy (DOE), have begun commercial operations on Dec. 10.
The microgrids have solar components that work when there is sunshine, which is stored in a battery system. When the battery drains, a diesel generator provides back-up power for the continuous availability of electricity in the microgrids," it said.
A prepaid metering system is used instead of billing customers every month so that customers can manage their power consumption."As a Lopez Group company, we at FP Island pursued these microgrid projects because they are aligned with our Group''s new mission which is ''forging collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future,''" FP Island president Victor Emmanuel Santos Jr. said.
Santos said the islands are surrounded by rich marine resources but half their daily catch goes to waste due to the lack of ways to preserve the fish before it gets to market.
But with 24/7 electricity, residents can now make ice to preserve their catch, he added.
"Round-the-clock electricity could spawn other livelihood opportunities in the island. It could attract investors keen on developing the area''s potential as an eco-tourism site," FP Island''s business development officer Martin Lacdao said.
Combined, the 3 islands are estimated to have 15,000 residents who were previously not connected to the main Luzon electric grid, the company said
LEGAZPI CITY u2014 Over 2,000 powerless communities in Camarines Sur are now enjoying 24/7 power connectivity since the establishment of the Lopez-led FP Island Energy Corporation, Federico Lopez, chairman and CEO of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), told The Manila Times.
He said that since the establishment of the FP Island Energy microgrids in December 2021 in the islands of Haponan, Lahuy and Quinalasag in Camarines Sur, about 2,135 families are no longer groping in the dark as these communities are benefiting from round-the-clock supply of electricity.
"A few days before Christmas in December 2021, we started to light on. Many of them first light on a Christmas tree. Our FP Island Energy microgrids started lighting up the lives of more than 2,135 households in three islands of Haponan, Lahuy and Quinalasag in Camarines Sur," said Lopez at the sideline of the First Net Zero Carbon Alliance Conference 2024 held at The Fifth Rockwell.
"In navigating this energy transition, we are also advancing our regenerative mission as we bear in mind the need to provide electricity to many more Filipino households who have never been fortunate enough to have 24/7 electricity in their lives," added Lopez.
This access to 24/7 electricity has allowed residents to engage in small businesses such as ice-making for their daily fish catch, printing services, mobile charging, internet access and online banking services, said Lopez.
"Teachers now use computers and printers in delivering lessons and school materials, and we've even donated Knowledge Channel's portable media library to some schools so students get to participate in more on-demand, interactive learning," he said.
Beyond creating a future-ready energy system, Lopez said the inclusion of the Philippines among the top five countries on the world's climate vulnerability list necessitates that "we prepare Philippine cities, communities, and infrastructure for resilience in a climate-changed world."
The Department of Energy (DoE) in a public notice in 2016 said that the provision on electricity services in Lahuy Island and Haponan Island in the towns of Caramoan and Quinalasag Island in Garchitorena in Camarines Sur was open through the Qualified Third Party (QTP) Program.
The Philippines is facing an energy crisis, and solar micro-grids are a part of the mix of solutions needed to supply our nation’s power.
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