MALACAÑANG is preparing an executive order (EO) on how best to bring electricity to remote areas by the end of the Duterte administration’s term in 2022, an Department of Energy (DoE) official said.
“The process has always been there. We just want to put in one document all the strategies to energize remote areas,” Undersecretary Felix Wiliam B. Fuentebella said in an interview on Tuesday.
He said the executive order will state that the exclusivity of a franchise holder will be deemed waived in certain areas considered poorly served, among other strategies to encourage other parties to step in.
Mr. Fuentebella added that if an electric cooperative submits a work plan that sets a target outcome by a given period, it will become the standard to be followed; otherwise its exclusivity will be deemed waived.
“It will become ‘deemed waived’ if you’re not meeting your obligation),” he said.
He said the regulation would ensure that consumers would not be placed at the mercy of a distribution utility at all times.
The exclusivity waiver, to pave the way for the entry of the private sector, has recently become a contentious issue after the DoE’s strict stance on power distribution utilities deemed to be remiss.
In a statement on Wednesday, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said he is calling for new technology to be infused into the efforts to achieve 100% electrification in rural areas, especially on isolated islands and other remote areas.
“If we want to achieve 100% household electrification by 2022, we need to look for other technologies. Let’s improve the process of electrification,” he said.
Mr. Gatchalian, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, said that grid extension, which is costly and antiquated, is not the only way to electrify unserved households.
He said the goal of his committee is to encourage the DoE to look for innovative solutions because of limited funding.
“We have to think of creative and innovative ideas to power our communities. For example, we have a lot of islands and remote areas that cannot be reached by electric wires but may be electrified by putting up microgrids and individual home systems, including solar panel systems,” he said. — Victor V. Saulon
