Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday welcomed the signing into law of the bill that seeks to institutionalize microgrid development in the Philippines, saying this would help the country realize total electrification by the end of the year.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy, said the public should expect the spur of microgrid development especially in rural areas now that Republic Act 11646 or the Microgrid Systems Act, has been signed into law.

“Ngayong ganap na itong batas, umaasa tayo na ang bawat sulok ng bansa ay magkakaroon na ng kuryente sa kani-kanilang mga bahay gamit ang makabagong teknolohiya sa pagtataguyod ng pribadong sektor (Now that it it is a law, we expect that all areas in the country would have continuous power supply within their homes using the latest technology with the help of the private sector),” Gatchalian said in a statement.

President Duterte had signed the measure into law last January 21. Under the law, microgrid system providers (MSPs) will now be allowed to operate in any area in the country.

The law mandates the Department of Energy (DOE) to declare the unserved and underserved areas for electrification and service by prospective MSPs. It aims to allow the entry of private sector accredited MSPs to serve unserved areas (those with no electricity access) and underserved areas (those areas whose electricity supply is less than 24 hours daily) without requiring them to obtain waivers from incumbent distribution utilities.

Gatchalian said that with the use of other technologies to provide reliable electricity service, the process of electrification would now be expedited.

The senator explained a microgrid can be powered by small-scale power generation facilities or decentralized power generation (DPG), batteries, and renewable sources such as solar and wind.

“Napapanahon ang pagsasabatas nito dahil ang mga kasuluksulukang lugar sa bansa na hindi naaabot ng mga linya ng kuryente ay maiilawan na gamit ang teknolohiyang microgrid (the signing of this law is timely because the current places in the country that have no electricity will finally have access to it using microgrid technology),” the senator said.

Gatchalian also said the Microgrid Systems Act would also be useful during times of calamity when transmission lines, towers and electrical posts would be toppled like what occurred during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

“Mas mapapabilis na ang rehabilitation works sa lugar na may microgrid dahil mas maliit ang sakop nito (Rehabilitation works in areas that have microgrid would be faster because it covers smaller areas),” he said.