The Department of Energy (DOE) said will hold the second round of competitive selection process (CSP) for microgrid system provider (MGSP) next month that will initially electrify 75 unserved and underserved areas.
It said in a statement over the weekend the move is part of its continuing commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the remaining unserved and underserved areas in the country.
The government aims to energize 100 percent of households by 2028.
The 75 identified areas covering 12,212 households were part of the 98 identified areas clustered into 49 lots previously offered during the first round of the MGSP-CSP in November last year.
The DOE said these areas are viable for MGSP given their higher demand, and most of the households are not widely dispersed.
It said the second round of MGSP-CSP would follow a streamlined and transparent process and allow MGSP proponents to survey the areas and prepare their proposal according to the schedule set by the DOE.
The DOE will issue the call for interested bidders in the first week of August, with the submission of expression of interest and pre-qualification slated for the fourth week of August.
Meanwhile, the submission and opening of technical and financial bid proposals will be in the fourth week of September, and the target issuance of notice of award is in the first week of December.
The DOE said Republic Act (RA) No. 11646, or the Microgrid Systems Act of 2022, mandates the conduct of a CSP before an MGSP can serve off-grid areas.
It provides a 90-day timeline to complete the conduct of the CSP from the pre-qualification until the submission of the awarded contract to the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The 2023-2032 National Total Electrification Roadmap (NTER) has identified 407 areas, of which 285 are unserved comprising of 20,103 households and 122 are underserved with a total of around 20,207 households.
