The Basic Energy Corp. (BSC) is seeking government backing to roll out electric buses in every province across the country within the next five years.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the BSC announced plans to get e-transport franchises for all 82 provinces with support from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

“We seek to secure a minimum of 82 franchises, one for each province in the Philippines, to deploy initially 10 up to a maximum of 80 class 2 e-buses (total of 6,500) in a five-year period,” BSC said.

The proposal is a component of BSC's Green Energy E-Transport Program (GEEP) and will be presented to the DOTr and LTFRB for consideration.

Recently, two stations have been added to the pilot test program, such as the EcoOil station in Cainta, Laguna, and the Phoenix Station in Vito Cruz that would benefit the Makati route.

GEEP aims to resolve energy supply through the use of renewable energy and the demand coming from modern e-buses.

“Recognizing the chicken-and-egg dilemma in pursuing the goal of increasing the population of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the country without a wide network of e-charging stations, BSC saw it apt to approach the matter holistically by addressing both supply and demand for clean energy,” said the energy company.

Basic Energy further explained the supply and demand which addresses the e-transport project.

Firstly, retail stations will provide spaces for rooftop-mounted solar panels and accessories and EV-charging outlets for e-buses.

BSC explained that the generated solar energy will be stored in batteries, while additional requirements by the e-buses will be drawn from the grid if they are beyond the limit of solar power.

The company also hopes to partner with distribution utilities (DUs) to set up modular solar plus battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The expected partnerships would resolve the RE demand, as Basic Energy stated “Because [of] the nationwide rapid deployment of e-buses and other EVs that will push the demand for energy.”

“Initially, we are considering the deployment of a 5 megawatt (MW) solar power plant with BESS for all DUs, enough to power up 80 e-buses,” they added.

BSC’s allied company, Ecology Builders and Development Corp. (EBDC) is tasked to locally assemble Class 2 e-buses as a government partnership in modernizing PUJs.

The e-buses will then be sold to transport operators and they are free to choose from two models at a competitive price from the Euro 4 diesel-engine powered version.

Moreover, the company explained that there is a 40 percent savings in energy costs.

EBDC will also locally assemble multipurpose EVs for deliveries, emergency response, and enterprises, to name a few.

Basic Energy also said that service centers will be created through the retail station networks.

“[We aim to] consolidate various sources of renewable energy and its related businesses to what we intend to call Basic e-Hub,” BSC said.

The Basic e-Hub will have charging facilities for the e-buses and e-jeeps, to cooperate with local transport cooperatives.

The terminal is also expected to provide other eco-friendly facilities that would benefit the commuting public.

“The hub intends to place a solar farm with battery storage which will service the local electric cooperative,” the company expounded on addressing intermittent power supply and standby power for possible outages. (Gabriell Christel Galang)