Napocor eyes private sector partnership for RE deployment

MANILA, Philippines — The National Power Corp. (Napocor) is seeking private sector partnership to accelerate deployment of renewable energy in the far-flung and off-grid areas of the country.

Napocor president and CEO Fernando Martin Roxas said 2022 was marked with a lot of challenges for state-owned corporations,  both financially and operationally.

He said the challenges were triggered by the sudden rise of fuel prices in the world market due to unforeseen geopolitical events.

“These incidents have further highlighted our heavy dependence on fossil fuels and the consequences it entails,” Roxas said.

With the government’s push for clean and sustainable energy, Napocor is looking to ramp up the use of renewable energy in its services areas in partnership with the private sector.

“While it may seem that our backs are on the wall, I believe that we shouldn’t let this crisis go to waste. We should accelerate our use of renewable energy resources,” he  said.

“Napocor intends to work with the private sector to expedite the deployment of renewable energy in our service areas,” Roxas said.

Napocor, as mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or Republic Act 9136, is mandated to provide power generation and its associated power delivery systems in areas that are not connected to the transmission system.

It manages and operates the transmission line systems of six provinces such as Palawan, Catanduanes, Masbate, Marinduque, Oriental and Occidental Mindoro.

Napocor Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) is currently supplying 229 missionary areas throughout the country, most of which have yet to attain a 24-hour electric power service.

“Within the confines of Napocor, we should also make the necessary arrangements to achieve more with less resources. We shall accomplish this by emphasizing sustainability in our procedures and operations,” Roxas said.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla had earlier asked Napocor to consider tapping nuclear energy  such as small modular reactors as a source of power.

Lotilla urged Napocor to look beyond and see the opportunities for a strengthened power sector for the country.

Napocor last year was named among the outstanding government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) in the country based on the 2021 corporate governance scorecard, one of the metrics that the Governance Commission for GOCCs uses in assessing GOCCs.

The corporate governance scorecard  was developed using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) policies and the ASEAN Corporate Governance Standards.

“Napocor’s performance at the corporate governance scorecard is a testament to its resolute efforts and commitment to service and excellence, albeit its present challenges,” it said.