The United States has donated three units of mobile energy systems (MES) to provide reliable electricity to remote communities in Palawan, its embassy in Manila said Tuesday.
US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson turned over the units in a ceremony at the National Power Corporation (NPC) Irawan Switching Station in Puerto Princesa City on May 16.
“The MES are not just equipment. They are essential tools of resilience and innovation that have been proven to provide power to some of the most remote locations in the country,” she said.
“On behalf of the US government, I thank the DOE (Department of Energy), the NPC, the Energy Regulatory Commission, and all our partners for their leadership and collaboration in making sure that no Filipino is left in the dark, no matter where they live.”
The new donation will be integrated into microgrids maintained by the NPC, which the embassy said would deliver life-sustaining power to some of the most remote and disaster-prone locations in the country.
Each MES unit is equipped with 9.18 kW of solar panels and a battery capacity of up to 70 kilowatt-hours —enough to power 10 Filipino households for a day.
On a single charge, it can support a disaster response team for a full week, providing power for satellite internet connectivity, five computers, 10 mobile phones, 10 two-way radios, and two electric fans.
This is the latest batch of MES units donated by the US to support the Philippines in achieving its energy goals under Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Energy Secure Philippines program.
In 2024, the US government turned over one MES unit to the DOE’s Emergency Operations Center in Manila and two MES units to the municipalities of Lal-lo and Santa Ana in Cagayan.
Four more MES units will be deployed in the Philippines later this year, the embassy said.
Present during the turn over ceremony were DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla, NPC President Fernando Roxas, USAID Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn, and DOE Undersecretary Giovani Bacordo. (PNA)