The top priority for National Power Corp. (Napocor)’s new top official is to slash costly diesel reliance in off-grid areas, signaling a stronger push toward renewable energy (RE).
‘The instruction is to decrease dependence on diesel fuel because diesel power plants are basically the majority of the Napocor generation facilities,’ Napocor president and CEO Jericho Nograles said in an interview.
Nograles, who took office just last month, said diesel-fired facilities remain the ‘most expensive’ power plants to operate for the state-run firm.
He said diesel-generated electricity costs about P30 per kilowatt-hour on average, but consumers pay only around P7 per kWh, leaving the government to shoulder the heavy subsidy gap.
Given this, Nograles said Napocor is now focused on accelerating the rollout of new RE assets by overhauling its previously slow-moving strategy.
‘We’re reviewing that (RE rollout), and we’re getting better leads nowadays. Let’s hope that you will see the results within six months,’ Nograles said.
Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, Napocor is mandated to provide electricity and associated power delivery systems to areas and communities not connected to the main grid.
It currently operates over 200 power plants and manages the transmission systems of several island provinces, including Palawan, Catanduanes, Masbate, Marinduque and Mindoro.
According to Nograles, Napocor is working closely with the Department of Energy to deploy new technologies aimed at reducing diesel consumption in off-grid areas.
‘We’re looking at islands. We’re looking at geographically isolated areas. And for those that are within the Napocor territories, within our 168 islands, we will fix their cost of electricity,’ Nograles said.