Island residents see the light

Island residents see the light

By Tina Arceo-Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:47pm (Mla time) 07/19/2008

LAPU-LAPU CITY -- Not a mouse stirred on the island barangay of Pangan-an that rainy afternoon of June 29 when residents sat glued to their small television sets, eagerly awaiting the title fight of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

The silence was only later shattered by loud cheers and deafening shouts as Pacquiao routinely landed a flurry of punches that eventually brought Mexican fighter David Diaz crashing to the canvas.

It is in times like the Pacquiao fight that the residents feel immensely blessed that they have electricity in their homes, reliably provided by one of the largest solar power facilities in the Philippines.

Operated and maintained by the Pangan-an Island Cooperative for Community Development, the solar complex at the center of the island has 504 panels generating 90 watts each.

The complex, funded by the Belgian government in cooperation with the Department of Energy, has been providing power to close to 230 households since it started operations on Dec. 7, 1998.

The University of San Carlos organized the beneficiaries of the solar energy into the cooperative and was instrumental in getting it off the ground. The DOE, on the other hand, taught the community how to operate and maintain the solar panels.

Experts from Belgium and the DOE, however, are on call for more serious repairs and technical problems that inevitably crop up.

Carlito Inoc, who collects electricity payments for the cooperative, still remembers the literally dark days when the island did not have any electricity, cut off as it is from the main power grid.

Inoc said in Cebuano that before solar electricity was introduced, the residents had to pay those with generator sets P5 a day just to use one light bulb from six to 10 in the evening. If they want to turn on a radio or television set, they have to shell out another P10 a day. Others resorted to connecting their lamps to a car or truck battery just so the children could study for a few hours at night.

But with solar energy, Inoc said the community now enjoys electricity 24 hours a day at a rate of P15 a kilowatt-hour, except during those rainy days when there is not enough solar energy stored in the complex’s 118 batteries to power the homes.

The community, however, is very judicious in its use of the solar energy since the members want as many households to enjoy its benefits. They also do not want to tax the solar complex considering its age.

None of the solar-powered homes, for instance, can own a refrigerator because it uses up too much electricity. Homes are limited to just a few lamps with television and radio sets for news and entertainment.

But even then, the television set should be turned off after the prime time evening news, again to conserve on energy. Those violating the rules are slapped a penalty of P500 every time they use the television beyond the allotted time.

Pangan-an coop director Romero Udto said in Cebuano it was difficult at the start to get the members of the cooperative to adhere to the rules on the use of solar power, as well as to pay their bill—which runs up to an average of P300 a month per household—on time.

Udto said, however, that with the consistent application of the rules and explanations that they needed to work together to ensure the continued availability of solar energy, the coop members saw the wisdom in following the cooperative’s rules.

It cost about P5,000 to be connected to the solar power network, but the Belgian government shouldered half of the expense. The resident paid for the other of P2,500 on installment, which was added to the monthly electric bill.

The cooperative uses the money collected from the power users to maintain the aging facility, which needs to be rehabilitated soon.

Inoc said some of the batteries already need to be replaced as they are not storing as much energy as they used to, much like car batteries. The cooperative estimated that it would need as much as P8 million to replace all 118 batteries although they should still be good for the next five years.

In the meantime, the cooperative is looking into other sources of funds so it could replace some of the batteries on its own.

The Philippine Business for Social Progress, for instance, is helping the members learn new money-earning skills, such as bee keeping and seaweed farming to add to their fishing and shell gathering.

The projects are part of PBSP’s Olango Island Development Program, which aims to improve the quality of life of 2,300 households, including those in Pangan-an where more than half live on just around P120 a day.