The Unheard Issue of Slum Electrification

Past programs of the Government focused on expansion of electricity services in rural and remote areas of the country.   The results of the 2010 Census of Population and Housing shows that there are many households in existing electrified areas that remain unaccounted for by the distribution utilities and electric cooperatives, especially in the slum areas of the cities and the outskirts of urban areas.    Said households are either:

a) Unelectrified for various reasons; and,

b) Already have access to electricity through illegal/informal means (e.g., flying connections).

Slum electrification and pilferage are, of course, closely related issues.  The rapid urbanization in the country makes these problems worse than before.

Any suggestion on how to handle 'em?  3 ... 2... 1...

Hi again!

I've been so busy in the last 6 months so I have had nothing to post in this blog.   I'll rectify this situation soon 'coz in 2 weeks time, I will return to the "unemployed" sector of the society once again. 

No job, no money >>> more sleep, more fun, and more time to write.

Cheers!

What's the status of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008?

We need to hear from DOE Secretary Almendras on his policy viewpoint with regards to the implementation of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).

Crucial in the design of the RPS are the following elements of the said mechanism:

• Who are the "electricity suppliers" that will be mandated with RPS obligation?
• What will be the level of RPS obligation? Is it a uniform level throughout the Philippines?  Will it vary geographically?
• What RE resources or projects should or should not be deemed as eligible for compliance by the electricity suppliers?
• When will be the commencement of the RPS implementation?

Buried in the design of the RPS, is the simple but chilling question from an ordinary Filipino:  How much will Juan Dela Cruz pay for it?  Can he still afford it?  

Let us hope that Sec. Almendras and the DOE will find a balance between RPS and the realities on the ground:  the Philippine's average electricity rate is one of the highest in ASEAN region.

Hello, Once Again!

It's been more than a year since my last blog post.   This year, I promise that I will be more active in giving you the major news and updates on the Philippine Electricity Market.

As for starter, I will apprise you of the update on the commencement of WESM in the Visayas Grid.   I heard that there are dissenting opinion on the said decision by the Government (through the Department of Energy).

Cheers!

An Obligatory Welcome To My Blog - What is this blog all about?

The obvious reason for this site is already stated in the above title caption.     

The topical discussion shall cover the energy and electricity sectors in the Philippines.   I will do my best to feature key discussions (hoping that some of them shall qualify as article to your own taste) about energy resources and technologies (conventional, renewables, non-renewables, etc.), as well as utilization (household, commercial, and industrial) in the Philippine settings.    My special interest is in the electric power industry, particularly the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Hey!  This blog has no intention of duplicating the websites of the Department of Energy, the Energy Regulatory Commission, or any other official sites of energy-related government agencies.  From time to time, however, I will use or refer to their published information in making my points.  But don’t worry.   I will strictly observe copyright and intellectual property rights in this blog.

What kind of discussion and information I’m thinking of, exactly?    At the moment, I have no specific themes in mind.   We can discuss anything under the sun:  policy, technology assessment, energy-environment relationships, electricity prices, energy investments, among others.   From time to time, I will try to post some tips on freewares and sharewares related to energy planning and power market analysis.

Tools such as SEI’s Long-Range Energy Analysis Planning (LEAP) model and IAEA/ANL/Adica Wien’s Automatic System Planning (WASP) Model will have their own special treatment in this blog.     I think some may also benefit if I can facilitate fruitful exchanges of experience on the use of models such as the Mathworks' MATLAB for energy and price forecasting.  I will also show some coding tricks in MS Visual Studio (I currently use the 2005 version and I prefer C# language) and VBA for Microsoft Office in presenting weird programming stuff related to energy and power market modeling.   Sorry, I can't help the geeky side of me.  But enough of that at the moment.  I'm being serious here. [Who, me? moi? serious?]

My goal is to awaken the interests of my fellow Filipino bloggers and ordinary readers  regarding the importance of energy and electricity in our lives, and in the economy in general.   I promise you that I will try to keep this site apolitical in my style of discussion and presentation (especially when Election 2010 is just around the corner).

I hope that you, the readers, can post your own opinions on the topics that shall be posted in this blog.  It will also be great if you can post your specific suggestions on how to make this blog more useful to your own line of work or interests.

To everyone, therefore, WELCOME to my blog! [Isn’t that very obligatory on my part?]

PS   :  If something's wrong with my grammar, please forgive me.  Blame my former teachers, not me.

PSS:  Nothing can come closer to the truth:  I wrote this blog out of my anxiety.  I'm in a middle of a family problem right now.  But to clarify, I'm serious about the stuff I've written above.