NPC, Winrock to energize 10 Sulu barangays

The National Power Corporation (NPC) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Winrock International for the electrification of 10 barangays in the remote municipality of Siasi in Sulu.

NPC and Winrock will undertake the energization project under the AMORE (Alliance for Mindanao Off-Grid Renewable Energy) Program. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), AMORE is a three-year program that aims to provide new and renewable energy systems to 160 off-grid barangays in Muslim Mindanao to help spur their economic development.

Under the MOA, NPC will supply and install in each of the 10 barangays a renewable energy system that consists of the following equipment: three 300-watt-peak (Wp) solar-powered battery charging stations; one solar home system for the community center; and two streetlights with a capacity of 75 Wp each. NPC will, moreover, provide each household in the beneficiary-barangays with three 10-watt fluorescent lamps, one 12-volt/100 ampere-hour deep cycle battery, electrical wiring and other devices.

For its part, Winrock will organize the households in the 10 barangays into BRECDAs or Barangay Renewable Energy and Community Development Associations to maximize community participation in the program. Each BRECDA will have 30 member-households and will be responsible for coordinating the rural electrification activities within their communities.

By NPC’s estimates, the energization of the 10 Siasi barangays will cost between P7-10 million. The 10 barangays are: Punungan; Bulih Kullul; South Silumpak; Southwestern Bulihkullul; North Silumpak; Bakud; Pisiong; Sarukot; Singko; and Siolakan.

The MOA was signed by NPC President Rogelio M. Murga and Winrock-AMORE Chief of Party Rodrigo E. Cabrera at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. Winrock is a US-based non-profit organization that implements projects aimed at improving livelihoods, sustaining natural resources and protecting the environment.

By NPC’s estimates, some 4,760 barangays are still without electricity, about half of which are in Mindanao. Of this figure, some 936 have already been officially declared as unviable areas and were included by the Department of Energy in its 2003 Missionary Electrification Development Program. NPC’s Small Power Utilities Group is targeting to energize these barangays within the next three years.

On top of this, NPC will prioritize this year the energization of 140 barangays included in the 2002 MEDP. This includes the 10 Siasi barangays covered by the MOA with Winrock.