IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOLAR HYBRID SYSTEM

IN A MICRO-GRID SETTING
DISTINCTIVE JOURNEY ON ADVANCING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
44TH Annual National Convention and 3E XPO
November 26 to 30, 2019
SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Metro Manila

RENE M. FAJILAGUTAN
General Manager ,Romblon Electric Cooperative, Inc.
President, Association of Isolated Electric Cooperatives, Inc.
T R A N S F O R M AT I O N O F T H E C O U N T RY S I D E
Coverage Area of Ecs
TOTAL % EC
PARTICULARS EC
PHILIPPINES COVERAGE
For the last 50 years, NEA and its
REGION 17 16 94%
partner-Electric Cooperatives PROVINCES 81 78 96%
have lit up the countryside and CITIES 145 90 62%
connected the farthest corners of MUNICIPALITIES 1,489 1,385 93%
the archipelago. BARANGAYS 42,044 36,065 86%

Energization Level
78/78 Provinces (100%)
90/90 Cities (100%)
1,385/1,385 Municipalities (100%)
36,057/36,065 Barangays (99%)
123,361/147,690 Sitios (84%)
12.827/14.342 Consumer Connections
(89%)
121 ECs
LEGEND:
24 PIOUs/LGUs

1969 2019
Courtesy: NEA-ERM
HOW THE ECs ACCOMPLISHED THIS MILESTONE

• Line Extensions
• Established Power Generation
Assets(70’s and 80’s)
• Connecting to the Grid
H O W T H E E C s F U L L F I L I T S M A N D AT E

- A d o p t t h e N e w Te c h n o l o g i e s
- D e p l o ym e n t o f R e n e w a b l e E n e r g y
- Installation of Distributed Generation
- D e v e l o p m e n t o f M i c r o G r i d S ys t e m s
- Etc.
ROMBLON PROVINCE

M I M A R O PA
REGION
( I V- B )

17 Municipalities
219 Barangays
292,781 Population
7 Islands
ROMBLON ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.

• Non-Stock, Non-profit Electric Cooperative

• Date of Registration to NEA - June 14, 1989
• Coverage Area -Six (6) Municipalities
(Romblon, San Fernando, Cajidiocan, Magdiwang, Banton & Corcuera)
• Size classification - Large EC
• Category - AAA
• Member-Consumer Owners - 28,742
• Number of personnel - 49
• Peak Demand - 4,440 kW
• Energy Purchase (2018) - 21,228,473 kWh
OUR AMBITION PRESENT ENERGYMIX

90% 39 % kWh
RENEWABLE (2018) 8,246,980
ENERGY RENEWABLE
ENERGY

61%
10% 12,801,045
DIESEL DIESEL
30 kW COBRADOR SOLAR-DIESEL HYBRID SYSTEM
PROFILE and SYSTEM MAP OF COBRADOR ISLAND
Municipality of Romblon Cobrador Island

Land Area : 2.64 sq. km

Topography : Mountainous
Distance from the main Island: About 45 mins-1 hr pumpboat ride
Population : 983
Number of Households:252
Livelihood: Fishing, Agriculture, Marble Craft.
Government Facilitates: Health center, Elementary School, Day-care
Churches: 4
ENERGIZATION MILESTONE

1997 2010 2016

Solar Home System 77wp 15kW Diesel Power Plant 30kW Solar Hybrid System
P150/month (P17/kWh) 8-hr service – P30/kWh 24-hr service – P15/kWh
PROJECT PROFILE

GENSET 15kW
PV 30 Kw
PV Panels 120 x 250 Wp
Battery 200 kWh
Power Control System (PCS) 25kW
Project Cost Php 25.852 M
Beneficiaries 252 HH (October 2019)
True Cost Generation Rate Php 38.3599/kWh (US$0.73/kWh)
Pass on Rate Php 15.00/kWh (US$0.2854/kWh)
Solar Energy Service Contract number 2017-06-419 (Issued October 26, 2017)
Contract Area 81 Hectares (1 Block)
Foot Print 300 Square Meters
Commissioning Date March 03, 2016
TYPICAL DAILY LOAD CURVE

LOAD PATTERN BEFORE AND AFTER IMPLEMENTATION OF FULL SERVICE

(COBRADOR ISLAND)
25
KILOWATT

20

15

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
2015 1.96 2.99 2.09 2.25 5.08 9.63 8.78 7.17 3.83 2.13
2016 7.6 7.2 6.8 7 7.5 5.7 6 6.5 6.1 6.3 6.8 6.2 6 6.8 7.4 7.6 7.2 9 14.6 15.8 13.2 10.2 8.7 7.8
2017 10.5 10.4 9.5 9.1 8.7 6.7 8.6 7.3 7.9 9.8 9.2 10.2 12.5 12.6 10.8 10.9 10.1 12.6 18.6 20.3 17.3 14 10 11
2018 10.9 10 9.8 9.2 9.3 8.3 8.3 8.7 11.2 9.7 11.6 11.5 10.8 12.1 12.1 9.7 10.7 11.6 19.6 22.2 17.5 12 10.4 10.3
ANNUAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION

60,000
9.89 %
28.81 % 56,284
50,000 51,219

40,000
242.17 %
39,763

KWH
30,000

20,000

23.65 %
10,000 21.26 % 7.68 %
75 % 11,621
68 % 8,729 9,399
7,198
2,447 4,118
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
CHALLENGES and
SOLUTION
CHALLENGES SOLUTION
A. Financing - Networking with Donor Institution ADB,
- Where to source funding KEA and NEA

B. Project Location
- Where to find suitable location? - Lease for 20 Years the property for project
- Are we going to acquire the sites
property?

C. Construction
- Availability of construction materials - Import almost all construction materials
from the main land
D. Transportation of Materials and
Equipment
- Lack of basic infrastructures - Innovation
- Lack of suitable transportation - Locally fabricate Transport equipment,
facilities Loading Devices, etc.
CHALLENGES
A. Operation and Maintenance – Lack of skilled
engineers/technicians in the locality
B. Economics of Operation – without approved tariff
C. Collection Efficiency
o Low income level of Households
o Seasonality of Household income
D. Regulations
o Application for RE Service Contract
o Application for Tariff Approval
(kW-sized RE power plants has
to meet same bureaucratic and financial
requirements as a MW-sized RE power
plants)
SOLUTION
- Continue training of local engineers and
technicians.
- Gained Support from MCOs/ Community
through Assembly meetings.
- ROMELCO and MCOs shared the full cost of
operation due to the absence of subsidy
from UCME.
- Went ahead of the project pending the
issuances of the contract and approval of
Tariff.
Financing Project Location Construction Transportation
R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S

Technical Issues:
• Capacitate the local Electric Cooperatives (ECs) through trainings and seminars to enhance their understanding
on Technologies and economics of the RE resources.
• Consider standardized pre-fabricated structures for the deployment of RE facilities.
• Technology Providers and Developers should have local experts to perform aftersales service to the RE facilities.
• For small capacities consider roof top or pole mounted PV installation.
• Use latest monitoring and predictive maintenance technologies.
Institutional
• Enhance the participation of local communities in the development of RE installation, particularly in decision
making and project ownership.
Financial
• Provide financing facilitates to the Electric Cooperatives in providing power generation facilities in remote
areas specially in small clustered communities.
• Encourage partnership/Joint venture with local Electric Cooperatives in the deployment of RE facilities.
Regulations
• Exempt the ECs in the conduct of Competitive Selection Process (CSP) specially for small RE installation.
• Streamline the process for the approval of service contract and tariff applications for small RE installations.
• Exempt the small RE installation from the payment of fees (signing bonus, education fees, training fees, etc.) in
securing RE Service Contracts.
RENE M. FAJILAGUTAN
GENERAL MANAGER
Romblon Electric Cooperative, INC.
Capaclan, Romblon, 5500 Romblon,
Philippines

Email:
renefajie@yahoo.com
romelcoinc1989@gmail.com