Remote Eastern Visayas villages to have electricity in first half

published March 02, 2010

TACLOBAN CITY -- The government aims to power up 197 remote villages in Eastern Visayas within the first half.

Presidential Assistant for Eastern Visayas Cynthia R. Nierras said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the Department of Energy and National Electrification Administration to release part of the P280-million nationwide electrification budget for Region 8.

"If the budget will be available early this year, electric cooperatives gave an assurance that the project will be finished by June 30, 2010," Ms. Nierras said in an interview.

Of the 197 villages without power, 134 are in Eastern Samar province, 49 in Samar, nine in Southern Leyte and five in Leyte. All villages in Northern Samar and Biliran have access to electricity.

Eastern Visayas has a total of 4,336 barangays with 4,139 having electricity as of December 2009. Remote areas tap solar and hydroelectric power as a source of electricity to reduce cost.

"In the area of rural energization, we are one of the regions with the highest accomplishment, which is above the 95% nationwide energization rate," Ms. Nierras said.

Economic planners in the region have noted the need to upgrade rural electrification given the increasing demand for energy in the next years.

In the Samar provinces, many far-flung areas have few potential customers, hindering the rural electrification initiative.

Considering the distance of some barangays from the town centers and access roads, the Regional Development Council has called on local government units to tap alternative sources of power to solve the problem. Island-municipalities in the region like Maripipi in Biliran are provided with generator sets.-Sarwell Q. Meniano