While far-flung areas in the country struggle to secure reliable and clean electricity, state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) is working to reduce its reliance on diesel fuel for electrification, in line with the government’s push for renewable energy (RE) and to curb high power costs.

In an interview, Napocor President Jericho Nograles explained that the agency is collaborating with the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the rollout of RE facilities that will replace some of the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) diesel plants in the country.

“Diesel power plants are basically the majority of the Napocor generation facilities. These generation facilities are the most expensive that we have,” he told reporters.

Nograles cited the financial burden: “To give you an idea, I think the average cost of electricity for diesel is about ₱30 per kilowatt hour. And we are only collecting about ₱7 on average. The rest is subsidized,” he said, noting that the remaining ₱23 is shouldered by the government.

The Napocor chief shared that they are gradually rolling out RE projects, which are expected to deliver results within the next six months.

Just last week, Nograles coordinated with the Western Mindanao Command to extend this electrification initiative to far-flung areas through the rollout of solar home systems.

“We’re looking at geographically isolated areas. Those are within the Napocor territories, within our 168 islands—we will fix their cost of electricity,” he stated.

He also stressed the need to extend assistance to off-grid areas, noting that some SPUGs are currently struggling with large debts to Napocor.

“Ultimately, when it comes to energy, the bottom line is the price. How much is the energy costing us, the government, and the people?” the executive said.

“DOE, ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission), and LGUs (local government units) need to support [this initiative],” he concluded.