DOE Pushes P131 Million Worth Rural Electrification

LIGHT THE FAR-FLUNG VILLAGES: Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi (center) signed the P131M worth memorandum of agreement that will energize far-flung areas with a prepaid solar home system at the DOE headquarters in Taguig City on Wednesday (Sept. 20, 2017). With Cusi are (from left) Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Officer-in-Charge Director Mario Marasigan; Bohol II Electric Cooperative General Manager Eugenio Tan, Board President Dionesio Oliavar Jr. and Institutional Services Department Manager Tito Andamon; DOE Usec. Felix William Fuentebella, Quezon II Electric Cooperative (QUEZELCO II) General Manager Victor Cada; Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative General Manager Ruth Galang and Board Pres. Francisco Espina; and QUEZELCO II Board President Normelita Curioso.

To help speed up the household electrification of far-flung off-grid areas, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi signed last Wednesday (Sept. 20) a Memorandum of Agreement worth P131 million to energize 5,574 households in communities under Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative (BISELCO), Quezon II Electric Cooperative (QUEZELCO II) and Bohol II Electric Cooperative (BOHECO II). This forms part of the Philippine government counterpart for the European Union-Access to Sustainable Energy Program (EU-ASEP) program.

The project involves the installation of a prepaid Photovoltaic Mainstreaming system for the 5,574 beneficiaries for 2017. The teams from European Union-ASEP and the World Bank, for their part, target the energization of 40,500 households between 2017 (10,000 HHs) and 2018 (30,500 HHs).

“I want to fast-track the electrification projects, so that our kababayans in the far away communities can have access to basic energy services. We want the beneficiaries to have a decent life, their children to have the opportunity to read their books at night and the families to listen to the news and other developments among their other concerns,” Cusi said.

The Secretary also urged the electric cooperatives to ensure the proper implementation of the project, specially on the identification of beneficiaries. "We have to make sure that we are delivering our services to the people, to their homes. Let’s be accountable and work hard together,” he said.

The breakdown of the DOE-funded electrification program for 2017 is as follows:

• BISELCO: A total of 3,711 households residing in barangays Banuang Daan, Borac, Bintuan, Buenavista, Bulalacao, Cabugao, Lajala, Marcilla, Decabobo, Decalachao, Guadalupe, Malawig, San Jose, San Nicolas and Tara in Coron; Sto. Nino, Old Busuanga, New Busuanga, Quezon, Buluang and Panlaitan in Busuanga; and Culion Island.

• BOHECO II: A total of 530 households living in barangays Cataban in Talibon; West Hingotanan, East Hingotanan, Bilangbilangan Dako and Bilangbilangan Diyot in Bien-Unido.

• QUEZELCO II: A total of 1,333 households located in the barangays Aluyon in Burdeos; Canaway, Pagsangahan, Lumutan and Umiray in General Nakar; and Maunlad in Real.

These beneficiaries are in the off-grid areas situated in isolated islets, households located or far from electrified sitios, and isolated areas such as small communities in upland areas.

The DOE electrification program entails two solar home systems (SHS) Services - the SHS Service 1 with 30 watt peak and the SHS Service 2 with 50 watt peak. These systems could power lighting systems, charge mobile phones and run small television sets.

Based on the Energy Regulatory Commission solar home system (SHS) electricity service rate for electric cooperatives, the beneficiaries will pay between P180.00 - P222.00 per month or P5-P8 per day, depending on the solar home system and zoning service or distance from the electric cooperative headquarters.

“For sustainability, the electric coops will impose service charges to recover the costs of maintaining and replacing certain components of the system. There will also be a technician to check and monitor the systems,” the Energy Chief said.

Together with the Secretary, the signing ceremony was also attended by DOE Usec. Felix William B. Fuentebella, OIC for Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) Director Mario C. Marasigan, OIC for EPIMB-Rural Electrification Administration and Management OIC Division Chief Engr. Josue B. Balacuit, DOE Legal Services representative Atty. Isidro V. Almenteros, DOE Accounting head Arturo Cudia and officials of BISELCO (General Manager Ruth Galang and Board President Francisco Espina), BOHECO II (General Manager Eugenio Tan and Board President Dionesio Oliavar Jr.), and QUEZELCO II (General Manager Victor Cada and Board President Normelita Curioso).

How to Make Money While Traveling: 6 Tips for College Students

Being a student is something which has a lot of advantages to it; people have more freedom to move around and travel, without being tied down to where they live by responsibilities and the need to hold down a steady job. Many, if not most people, take advantage of this by traveling either before or during their studies, using gap years and holidays as opportunities for traveling.

Of course, to travel you still need money. For a student, there are two options, since they most likely don’t have the settled career that adults who are outside the education system do. Students can either use savings which have accumulated over their lives or they can work while they are traveling. Working while traveling is also something which gives more opportunities to be involved with the local culture.

There are many more ways to earn money while traveling than people normally think, ranging from the extremely casual working in a shop to the more in-depth teaching classes. It can also become a travel blogger for a specific company. If some students need help to write an essay and you are interested in that area of work, then you could even work as someone who provides this type of help.

Working while traveling is something which can take some coordination when setting up, but it will help you get more involved in the culture, learn more of the language, and of course, earn money for the next leg of your trip!

Travel Blogging
Travel blogging is something which has really taken off in recent years, due to the digital world becoming so accessible. Travel blogs are in high demand from many different companies, including travel agents and hotel companies. The ideal travel blog is something which is not very long but in-depth, and shows the variety of entertainments which exist for travelers in a certain area. Ideally, when travel blogs are written, they should focus on one single area within a geographical location, and show the sites, good places to eat, best travel options and more, which are available to travelers.

Teaching English
This is something which is best sorted out before you go on your trip, but people who are traveling can fund themselves by teaching English wherever they go. Teaching English is something which can be quite lucrative, although it obviously depends on where you go on holiday. It is also a good way to learn the local languages, since you will need to communicate effectively in the local language where you are staying if you want your teaching to be most effective. The internet can help point you and others in the right direction if this is how you want to spend your holidays.

Housesitting
Housesitting is one way of making money while traveling, but this particular method might work best if you are already familiar with the area in question. Knowing the language will also be helpful, as it will allow you to build a network of customers more easily.

Housesitting itself is useful for a variety of reasons – not only does it allow you to earn money, it also gives you the opportunity to move around the city or country you are currently in. This can help you to learn more about the area you are traveling in.

Café\Restaurant Work
Working in a café or a restaurant is perhaps one of the easiest forms of work to get for someone who is traveling (though not the easiest form of work). This type of work is always available, and so it is quite easy to get hold of.

Busking
Busking is perhaps something that should be a last resort, since it is not really a fixed source of income, and so may not give you enough money to travel. Busking and playing musical instruments is something which happens a lot in major cities, so you will most likely be able to find a spot to play quite easily.

Work Exchange
A work exchange is a website or other area which lists people and companies which are willing and able to provide food and accommodation in exchange for work. This does not pay, but on the other hand, you don’t need to pay either. It is useful if you want to simply experience living in a certain environment, although if you want to spend all day sightseeing it might not be for you. Work exchanges are also useful for traveling around an area, as it means that you will always have accommodation.

Final notes
Working while traveling is a very popular thing to do as it gives people more ability to move around than they would otherwise have had. There are a number of ways to work while traveling, some of which are harder to set up than others, but all of which enable people to enjoy their traveling more, and potentially get more out of it.

DOE Aims for More Women in the Energy Sector

More women should be involved in the energy sector for gender balance and thus make it more responsive to the requirements of nation-building.

This was emphasized by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as the Department of Energy (DOE) ramped up its program to introduce students to possible careers in the energy sector. 

“We encourage women to venture in the energy sector as they can also be great engineers and designers of infrastructure projects and energy devices, thus making the energy sector more gender-responsive.”

The Energy Chief said the goal of the DOE is to motivate students especially women to take up engineering or science programs in college.

“This will support our advocacy towards spreading the gender equality policy and non-discrimination of women in the energy industry involving the long energy value chain from exploration and development, midstream sectors related to generation, transmission and distribution up to utilization,” Cusi said.

"As encapsulated in our E-Power Mo campaign, we value the roles of our youth, regardless of their gender, in nation-building, particularly in the energy sector development.”

“Educating our students about energy would allow them to better appreciate energy issues, whether in their daily lives or in their future profession,” Cusi pointed out.

The DOE-Gender and Development (GAD) through the Consumer Welfare and Promotion Office (CWPO) recently commenced the second year of the series of the ENEReady program starting with 134 high school students in Pasig City.

According to DOE-CWPO, the ENEReady: Career Talks on Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Energy Workforce Program is primarily anchored on the DOE-GAD goal of promoting a more gender-balanced employment in the energy sector as there has been no remarkable increase in the number of women taking up engineering courses and graduating in sciences program in the last five years.

A total of 134 Grades 10 and 11 students, including 36 students representing the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) all involved in sciences, attended the ENEReady career talk held last September 5 at the Pasig City Science High School (PCSHS), Maybunga, Pasig City.

The resource persons from the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, Renewable Energy Management Bureau, and Energy Resource Development Bureau related their personal experiences in their presentations. Through interactive discussions, the speakers also explained the types of jobs and leadership roles that engineers and applied science graduates can undertake in the energy industry for career path or growth.

Also present during the Career Talk were PCSHS Assistant Principal Lowell H. de Ramon and Guidance teachers, and guests from the GSP National Headquarters, Jade Villanueva and Ma. Rosalina Flores.