TeaM Energy sets aside over P40M for rural electrification projects

MANILA, Philippines - TeaM Energy Foundation Inc. (TEFI) of Japanese joint venture firm TeaM Energy Philippines Corp. will spend more than P40 million for rural electrification projects this year.

Under the Tanglaw Enerhiya program 2012-2013, TEFI targets providing access to energy for 2,000 households located in five barangays in Polilio Island, Quezon.

“We are conducting the bidding for the electrification of Polilio Island before June,” TEFI executive director Ricky de Castro said in a presentation.

The Tanglaw Enerhiya project has so far electrified 3,400 households in 15 barangays and three municipalities in Quezon.

For the Household Electrification Project (HEP), the plan is to electrify 3,200 households in 48 barangays in 16 provinces.

The foundation will spend P40 million to buy equipment from the Department of Energy, De Castro said.

He said the foundation has so far spent P121 million worth of projects and has collected P28 million from end-users.

To date, the HEP has energized 2,650 households in 59 barangays across the country that benefited 13,250 individuals.

Beneficiaries were Pangasinan, Ifugao, Kalinga, Nueva Ecija and Romblon for Luzon; Northern Samar for Visayas; and Zamboanga Sibugay, Surigao del Norte, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato and Agusan del Sur for Mindanao.

TeaM Energy is a joint venture between Japanese firms Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Marubeni Corp.

De Castro said TEFI wants to go into the most remote areas in the Philippines. The target is to provide access to electricity to 90 percent of households nationwide by 2017.

He added that TEFI wants to establish five service centers to cater to the needs of residents in Polilio Island.

The foundation is part of TeaM Energy’s corporate social responsibility.

TeaM Energy is looking at 10 renewable energy projects as part of its expansion plans. The bulk of the projects, which are under various stages, are hydroelectric power.

Last month, TeaM Energy said it partnered with Aboitiz Power Corp. to expand a coal-fired power plant in Quezon province at a cost of $600 million to $700 million.

TeaM Energy earns from and operates the 735-megawatt (MW) Pagbilao coal plant and the 1,200-MW Sual coal plant in Pangasinan.