The Department of Energy-led Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee Government issued a resolution directing government entities to install at least 20 percent of their electricity requirements from solar power or equivalent renewable energy technology.
It encouraged government agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations, state universities and colleges and local government units to tap solar energy in their government-owned buildings to help minimize the country’s exposure to fuel price fluctuations in the international markets.
The IAEEC gave the government entities three years from the effectivity of the resolution to comply with the solar or RE equivalent requirement based on the highest monthly kilowatt-hour billing demand of the previous years. It was created by virtue of Section 9 of Republic Act No. 11285 of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.
Energy Secretary and IAEECC chairperson Raphael Lotilla said the participation of all government entities in the program would pave the way to the reduction of their monthly electricity consumption which the government could re-channel to other services such as health and education.
Lotilla said that apart from public spending on electricity consumption, widely available military lands, camps and reservations could also host solar farms.
The installation of solar panels in government lands and buildings would also allow the government to maximize the job-creation potential of RE, he said.
The solar energy utilization is also part of the compliance with the Government Energy Management Program which encourages all government entities to reduce their electricity consumption by at least ten percent.
IAEECC Resolution No. 8 promulgated on July 7, 2023 states that a government entity that will install solar PV system or any equivalent RE technology with a capacity not exceeding 100 kilowatts is allowed to be qualified end-users and may enter into a net-metering agreement with a distribution utility.
QEs are entities such as a house or office building that generate electric power coming from an eligible RE generating facility that can be connected to the grid, for the purpose of entering into a net-metering agreement.
Meanwhile, the net metering program allows customers of distribution utilities, such as house or building, to install an on-grid RE-based system not exceeding 100 kW in capacity so they can generate electricity for their own use.
Electricity generated that is not consumed by the customer is automatically exported to the DU’s system.
The DU then gives a peso credit for the excess electricity received equivalent to the DU’s blended generation cost, excluding other generation adjustments, and deducts the credits earned to the customer’s electric bill.
The DOE-Energy Utilization Management Bureau will assist government entities in the installation of their solar PV system with the necessary technical requirements.