Manila starts second round for selection of microgrid provider

This will cover 75 unserved and underserved areas.

The Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) has opened the second round of competitive selection process (CSP) for microgrid service providers for the electrification of 41 lots composed initially of 75 unserved and underserved areas across the country.

In a statement, DOE said the covered areas have a total of 12,212 households and were part of the 98 areas clustered into 49 slots that were offered during the initial round in November 2023. 

The Microgrid Systems Act of 2022 mandates the conduct of a CSP before a provider can serve off-grid areas. It provides a 90-day timeline to complete the process from pre-qualification until the submission of the awarded contract to the Energy Regulatory Commission. 

Deadline for the submission of expression of interest and pre-qualification for the second round is by the fourth week of August. 

In the first round, eight lots in the provinces of Cebu, Quezon, and Palawan were awarded to the Maharlika Consortium composed of the Maharlika Clean Power Holdings,Corp., Singapore’s CleanGrid Partners Pre Ltd., and WEnergy Global Pte Ltd. 

The 2023-2032 National Total Electrification Roadmap has identified 407 areas which are composed of over 20,100 unserved households, and another 20,200 underserved households.