Newly-installed National Power Corp. (Napocor) president Jericho Nograles aims to reduce dependence on costly diesel fuel in remote or “missionary areas” to bring down subsidized power costs.
Napocor’s power generation facilities are primarily diesel power plants, which Nograles said are the most expensive the company operates.
“Because diesel power plants are basically the majority of the Napocor generation facilities,” Nograles said.
“And these generation facilities are the most expensive that we have,” he said.
The average cost of electricity generated by diesel is about P30 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), but Napocor collects an average of only about P7, with the national government subsidizing the remaining P23, he said.
“So, P23 is subsidized by the national government,” Nograles said.
“Because these are missionary electrification. The challenge that we have is how to lessen dependence on diesel power plants,” he said.
He said to address this, Napocor is looking at deploying new technologies, including bringing in more renewable energy assets, and hopes to see initial results within six months.
“We’re trying to increase our renewable energy assets to decrease diesel dependence,” he said, noting the company is overhauling its approach to accelerate the rollout of new systems.
The previous management’s plan for an Accelerated Hybridization Plan (AHP) in four pilot areas—which would allow the private sector to put up renewable energy generation plants to supplement or replace Napocor’s existing Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) diesel power plants—had not materialized.
Nograles also mentioned plans to deploy hundreds of solar home systems to missionary areas in Mindanao to give isolated communities a tangible sign of support from the national government through Napocor.
“We will fix their cost of electricity,” he said, focusing on islands and geographically isolated areas within Napocor’s territories.
Napocor’s core mission is missionary electrification in places where private power companies will not invest due to potential losses.
Nograles said Napocor’s biggest challenge is the huge debts owed to the company by “ailing areas,” which is currently under review.
“Our mission is not just to energize,” Nograles said.
“But to help the economy become self-sustaining. That’s the bigger challenge of Napocor, the Department of Energy [DOE], the government and the local government units [LGUs],” he said.
