With Christmas just around the corner, Shell Foundation has lit up erstwhile energy-less communities in Palawan for locals to appreciate the most wonderful of the year in a way they have yet to experience.
Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI’s) project “Access to Energy” or A2E has given the gift of energy to communities in the province still not connected to the grid with the campaign empowering these areas to have their own sources of energy- clean and renewable at that.
The A2E currently has five projects in Palawan. One such project is in Sitio Binaluan in Liminancong, Taytay, where members of the press were invited to see just how this program works and how it has affected the community.
The residents of the sitio held a ceremony recently in which the city’s Christmas tree was lit for the very first time. Aside from ushering in the holiday season, the event marked the first time the community will be celebrating a brighter and more joyful Christmas.
“We did not expect to gain electricity for 24 hours without brownouts, but now it’s here. We are very happy and very thankful to the Shell Foundation,” said Leonil Severino, President of the Binaluan Electric Association, which oversees the grid system for villagers to sustain the facility on their own in the future.
Sitio Binaluan, home to 509 indigenous Tagbanuas, has a four-classroom school, a day care center, a church, a purok (village) center, a stage, and street lights—all of which are being powered by the A2E’s Binaluan Micro-Grid.
“We extend our gratitude to PSFI. Thank you for changing the lives of the people of Binaluan forever,” Severino added.
These microgrids make use of a combination of solar, hydro, wind, and diesel generator power to provide energy to clustered communities. For houses that are too far away from the grids, A2E has set up individual home systems for their energy requirements.
The other four A2E projects are in Sitio Kalakwasan, Barangay Decabaitot, Barangay Baras, and Sitio Ligad, the newest beneficiary of the program.
“This project is for you to use, hopefully you can keep this system running so that you can use it for a lifetime,” said PSFI Program Director Edgar Veron Cruz.