Government offices are under orders to use solar power and other renewable energy sources within their premises to help minimize the country’s dependence on imported fuel.
The order covers government owned or controlled corporations, local government units and state-owned colleges and universities and forms part of the Government Energy Management Program asking all public agencies to cut their electricity consumption by at least 10 percent.
In a resolution promulgated 7 July by the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC), government entities are given three years to install at least 20 percent of their power requirements from solar power or equivalent renewable energy (RE) technology based on the highest monthly kilowatt-hour billing demand of prior years.
Under IAEECC Resolution No. 8, a government entity with installed solar photovoltaic system or any equivalent renewable energy technology with capacity not exceeding 100 kilowatts is also allowed to enter into a net-metering agreement with a distribution utility.
Under net-metering, solar power owners export their excess electricity to the grid in exchange for electricity bill credits that can be in the form of rebates.
Raphael Lotilla, Department of Energy (DOE) secretary and concurrent IAEECC chairman, said the participation of government entities to the program should cut their monthly electricity bills and re-channeled to other services such as health and education.
Apart from public spending on electricity, vast tracts of military land, camps and reservations are also being eyed as host solar farms.
Lotilla also said the Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) will assist government entities in the installation of solar photovoltaic systems.
To date, the EUMB launched solar demonstration projects at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Zamboanga Peninsula office in Pagadian City, the DOE Luzon field office in Pangasinan and the Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte.
Lotilla said the demonstration projects validate the viability and effectiveness of renewable enery technologies in helping cut electricity consumption in government offices.
The EUMB will also provide an official list of solar PV installers for reference and guidance of all government entities, collaborate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and assist them in evaluating the structural integrity of their office buildings.
The IAEECC is composed of the DOE as chair with the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, Department of the Interior and Local Government, DPWH, Department of Transportation, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry and NEDA as members.
