The Department of Energy (DOE) is trying to sway all government-run institutions to embrace solar solutions in meeting their energy needs to break the country’s cycle of vulnerability to volatile global fuel prices. According to the energy department, perfect candidates for solar installations in their buildings will be those housing the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), local government units (LGUs) as well as state universities and colleges (SUCs). The agency sets out commitment that its Energy Utilization Management Bureau (DOE-EUMB) “shall assist government entities in the installation of their solar PV (photovoltaic) system with the necessary technical requirements.” So far, three pilot solar demonstration projects had already been concretized with the help of the DOE-EUMB, including the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Region IX office in Pagadian City, the DOE-Luzon field office in Pangasinan and the Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte. The pitch for solar solutions had been laid down in a resolution promulgated by the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC) on July 7 this year, primarily stipulating that “government entities are given three (3) years from the effectivity of the resolution to install an initial supply of at least twenty (20) percent of their electricity requirements from solar PV system or any equivalent renewable energy (RE) technology based on the highest monthly kilowatt-hour (kWh) billing demand of the previous years.” Relative to that, the resolution of the DOE-chaired IAEECC decreed that solar energy utilization could also be integrated in the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP), or the policy that requires government entities to pare their electricity consumption by at least 10-percent. Energy Secretary and IAEECC Chairperson Raphael P.M. Lotilla highlighted that “the result of the participation of all government entities to this program will pave the way to the reduction of their monthly electricity consumption which the government could rechannel to other services, such as health and education.” Further, the energy chief propounded that “widely available military lands, camps and reservations could also host solar farms,” adding that such initiative could also reinforce creation of more ‘green jobs’ for Filipino workers. In particular, the DOE apprised the government institutions that if they can install solar PV system or any equivalent renewable energy (RE) technology that shall be of less than 100-kilowatt (kW) capacity, that will enable their participation into the net metering program which will be tied to an arrangement with a distribution utility. Net metering is an electricity billing mechanism in which the end-user with solar or RE installation can use part or all the electricity that he/she produces, but any surplus can be injected into the load network of the power utility and that will have cost-offsetting in the bill of the consumer. As specified under Resolution No. 8 of the IAEECC, the qualified end-users could include “a house or office building that generate electric power coming from an eligible RE generating facility that can be connected to the grid, for the purpose of entering into a net-metering agreement.” The net metering deal is typically sealed with a distribution utility which is servicing the area where that end-user’s house or building is located.