Philippines accelerates push to light up rural homes

Over a million households in the Philippines remain without electricity, a gap the government aims to close within the next three years.

Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said the Department of Energy (DoE) and National Electrification Administration (NEA) are deploying a mix of strategies to speed up household energization, including microgrid systems, solarized homes, and streamlined grid connections.

“Just a little more and we’ll be close to 100%,” she said in a speech last year. “For every one peso the government spends on electrification, we get four pesos in return. So, it’s an investment for us and for our children.”

During his fourth State of the Nation Address in July 2025, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. directed the DoE and NEA to accelerate efforts to fully electrify the country before the end of his term in 2028.

As of June 2025, about 28.27 million households have been energized, accounting for 94.77% of the projected households from the 2020 Philippine Statistics Authority census.

Luzon posted the highest electrification rate at 98.53%, followed by the Visayas at 95.78%, while Mindanao continues to trail at 83.81%, highlighting the difficulty of reaching last-mile communities.

Under the 2024-2028 National Electrification Roadmap, the government was targeting a 96.51% electrification rate by the end of 2025.

The DoE’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) said achieving full electrification by 2028 will require an estimated P80.9 billion, with around P68.26 billion expected from government financing and P12.64 billion from private investments.

The funds will cover household connections to existing grids, distribution line extensions, stand-alone home systems, and microgrid projects.

NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda said the agency expected rural electrification to reach 91.7% by the end of 2025, aiming for 94% by the end of 2026 with higher subsidies from Congress.

“With the increase in the budget, it requires an increase in engineers to validate, inspect, liquidate, and issue certificates of final inspection,” he said during a briefing in December, noting that the issue is being discussed with the Commission on Audit.

EPIMB said insufficient funding and subsidies make grid extension and off-grid projects difficult, particularly in areas where electrification is not commercially viable.

“Because rural electrification is often not profitable, private companies are hesitant to invest. The regulatory and institutional frameworks—tariffs, subsidies, and incentives—may not sufficiently offset risk,” the bureau said.

Much of the work of electrifying last-mile communities has fallen to electric cooperatives and private utilities operating on the ground.

The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA), which represents cooperatives nationwide, said it is aligning its programs to support the government’s 2028 electrification goal.

“We are aligning all available mechanisms, projects, and assistance to ECs (electric cooperatives) in ensuring the attainment of total electrification by 2028,” PHILRECA Executive Director and General Manager Janeene Depay-Colingan said in a statement.

She noted that ECs face obstacles, including difficult terrain, limited infrastructure, high project costs, and logistical constraints, which require innovative and coordinated approaches.

PHILRECA said it is strengthening partnerships with government agencies, optimizing funding mechanisms, deploying modular and renewable energy solutions in off-grid areas, and enhancing the technical capacities of cooperatives.

MICROGRIDS, RENEWABLES

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which serves about 3% of the country’s land area, has also expressed support for the national agenda.

“The government’s target of achieving full electrification nationwide by 2028 is ambitious and critical for inclusive development — and Meralco is fully committed to supporting this agenda,” Meralco Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho said.

Meralco is expanding its role in off-grid electrification through microgrid projects. The company targets to energize more than 1,000 homes and businesses on Cagbalete Island in Mauban, Quezon, with a solar-plus-battery microgrid system and backup diesel generation.

“With the launch of the Cagbalete Microgrid, we reaffirm Meralco’s commitment to power progress with sustainable energy solutions, ensuring that no one is left in the dark,” Mr. Aperocho said.

Renewable energy and microgrids are seen as cost-effective solutions for off-grid areas. Many households in remote communities rely on diesel generators or kerosene lamps, which often incur higher and more volatile costs.

“It offers a way to step back from traditional grid extension, reduce reliance on diesel and imported fuels, improve resilience — especially given the country’s exposure to natural disasters — and support inclusive development,” EPIMB said.

Albert R. Dalusung III, energy transition adviser at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, said that renewable energy can help lower electricity costs for local communities.

He cautioned that efforts should focus not only on expanding coverage but also on delivering reliable power that enables economic activity.

“I think what is important is not just to target full electrification because it may be ‘full electrification,’ but you’re only delivering eight hours or less of electricity,” he said.

Source: Business World

‘Philippines sitting on $3.9 trillion hydropower potential’

The Philippines holds around $3.9 trillion in hydropower potential, which, according to industry experts, would not only boost electricity supply but also curb worsening floods and enhance farm productivity.

“The estimate is around 650 gigawatts of (untapped potential) because we’re an archipelago and we’re surrounded by water,” said Gertrude Roque, president of the private sector-backed Philhydro Association Inc.

To unlock this vast potential, Roque said the country would need an investment of roughly $5 million to $6 million per megawatt.

“But of course, not all sites are accessible. Road openings, as we call them – especially in mountainous areas – are very difficult, costly and risky,” she said.

While several hydro technologies exist, including run-of-river (ROR), dams and pumped storage hydro (PSH), Gertrude said developing a combination of these would be the “best” approach for the Philippines.

“For dams, we store the water to prevent floods or to irrigate the farms,” Roque said, highlighting the function of dams besides electricity generation.

Large-scale hydro plants often typically require the construction of dams that create reservoirs, allowing water to be stored and released in a controlled way to generate electricity.

ROR facilities are small-scale hydro plants that rely on the flow of the rivers, while PSH can function as an energy storage while also injecting power into the grid to reinforce supply.

“We really need to look into the capacities that we need to build for each type of these hydro projects. We have to balance, plan for it and do a lot of studies and scenario building for that. That’s how flexible, I guess, hydro is,” Roque said.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, meanwhile, described hydropower projects as the “perfect partner” in the country’s transition to cleaner, sustainable energy.

“We rely on hydropower for reliability and stability. It provides the crucial firming capacity and the essential ancillary services required to keep our grid stable 24/7,” Garin said.

Amid the country’s persistent flooding problems, the energy chief also affirmed that hydropower could help drive national resilience and flood control.

“Hydro facilities are critical infrastructure for disaster mitigation. Reservoirs and integrated water management actively control river flows, mitigate flash floods and protect communities during severe weather events,” Garin said.

Currently, hydropower accounts for around eight percent of the country’s energy mix.

Source: Philstar

Philippines counting on 14.2-GW new power supply by 2030

Over 14,200 megawatts (MW) of new capacity are set to come online by 2030 to strengthen the country’s power supply, according to the Department of Energy.

Latest DOE data showed that renewable energy accounted for the bulk of committed projects between 2025 and 2030, totaling 11,625.32 MW.

Some 2,620.74 MW of new capacity, meanwhile, will come from conventional sources like coal, oil and natural gas.

Committed projects refer to those that have secured firm financial closure, are already under construction or have been awarded through the government’s green energy auction rounds.

For renewables, solar projects dominated the list with an aggregate capacity of 8,431.19 MW, followed by wind (2,233.24 MW), hydropower (836.38 MW), geothermal (74.22 MW) and biomass (50.28 MW).

These projects are aligned with the Marcos administration’s target of expanding the share of renewables in the energy pie to 35 percent by 2030 from the current 22 percent.

Among conventional sources, coal projects remained at the forefront, with a total capacity of 1,570 MW. Natural gas and oil-based projects are poised to contribute 880 MW and 170.74 MW of new capacity, respectively.

The Philippines is still heavily dependent on coal for power generation despite the government’s moratorium on new Greenfield facilities.

In fact, coal accounted for 62 percent of the country’s power generation mix last year, according to a 2024 report by the International Energy Agency.

While there is a strong push to deploy more renewables, the IEA noted that coal’s share in the energy mix is likely to only marginally decrease to 60 percent by 2027.

Aside from power generation assets, the government is also expecting reinforcements from committed battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totaling 594 MW.

A BESS facility stores electricity from power plants or the grid for various applications such as grid stability, energy efficiency and renewable power integration.

The DOE is counting on these projects to augment the country’s power supply amid rising energy demand.

Under the Philippine energy scenario, peak demand is expected to grow by around 5.3 percent annually until 2028.

Source: Philstar