Story/Photos: ELMER RECUERDO
LAWAAN, Eastern Samar – House Minority Leader and 4Ps Rep. Marcelino Libanan urged the Department of Energy to develop small and environment-friendly renewable energy projects to address rural electrification and stabilize electricity in the countryside.
Libanan made the appeal at the inauguration of the rehabilitated 1MW Amanjuray Hydropower Plant in this town saying the revival of the power plant would help ease Eastern Samar's lingering electricity supply problem.
"We are counting on the hydropower plant's restoration to help provide relief to Eastern Samar residents that have long been reeling from recurring outages and elevated electricity rates," Libanan said.
"The Department of Energy should encourage the development of small, environment-friendly renewable energy projects in the countryside to address rural electrification," Libanan said in a separate statement on Sunday.
"There's no question that the provision of adequate and stable electric services to rural barangays will produce greater economic opportunities for marginal families, such as those engaged in farming and fishing, and improve their quality of life," he added.
Libanan previously represented Eastern Samar's lone congressional district for three consecutive terms. He is now 4Ps party-list representative.
The Amanjuray hydropower plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric system that harvests the energy from the flowing water generated by the Amanjuray Falls, one of the four waterfalls in the Bolusao River Watershed Forest Reserve.
The hydropower plant was originally built by the NEA in 1991 with the help of a grant from the United Kingdom. The NEA has since transferred the facility to ESAMELCO Renewable Energy Corp., which rehabilitated the system.
In 2021, the United Nations Development Program said it will fund the rehabilitation of the damaged Amanjuray hydropower plant to increase the renewable energy portfolio of the Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ESAMELCO), among others.
The rehabilitation of the power plant was made through the Development for Renewable Energy Applications Mainstreaming and Market Sustainability (DREAMS) Project, which is a five-year project being implemented by DOE through its Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UNDP.
The Amanjuray hydropower plant has the capacity to provide electricity to 15,000 households. ESAMELCO serves a total of 597 barangays in Eastern Samar and has an estimated customer base of around 117,443. The cooperative operates and maintains over 2,101 kilometers of distribution lines and has a peak load demand of 23 megawatts, according to updated NEA reports.(CJ/jmm/ER)
LAWAAN, Eastern Samar – House Minority Leader and 4Ps Rep. Marcelino Libanan urged the Department of Energy to develop small and environment-friendly renewable energy projects to address rural electrification and stabilize electricity in the countryside.
Libanan made the appeal at the inauguration of the rehabilitated 1MW Amanjuray Hydropower Plant in this town saying the revival of the power plant would help ease Eastern Samar's lingering electricity supply problem.
"We are counting on the hydropower plant's restoration to help provide relief to Eastern Samar residents that have long been reeling from recurring outages and elevated electricity rates," Libanan said.
"The Department of Energy should encourage the development of small, environment-friendly renewable energy projects in the countryside to address rural electrification," Libanan said in a separate statement on Sunday.
"There's no question that the provision of adequate and stable electric services to rural barangays will produce greater economic opportunities for marginal families, such as those engaged in farming and fishing, and improve their quality of life," he added.
Libanan previously represented Eastern Samar's lone congressional district for three consecutive terms. He is now 4Ps party-list representative.
The Amanjuray hydropower plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric system that harvests the energy from the flowing water generated by the Amanjuray Falls, one of the four waterfalls in the Bolusao River Watershed Forest Reserve.
The hydropower plant was originally built by the NEA in 1991 with the help of a grant from the United Kingdom. The NEA has since transferred the facility to ESAMELCO Renewable Energy Corp., which rehabilitated the system.
In 2021, the United Nations Development Program said it will fund the rehabilitation of the damaged Amanjuray hydropower plant to increase the renewable energy portfolio of the Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ESAMELCO), among others.
The rehabilitation of the power plant was made through the Development for Renewable Energy Applications Mainstreaming and Market Sustainability (DREAMS) Project, which is a five-year project being implemented by DOE through its Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UNDP.
The Amanjuray hydropower plant has the capacity to provide electricity to 15,000 households. ESAMELCO serves a total of 597 barangays in Eastern Samar and has an estimated customer base of around 117,443. The cooperative operates and maintains over 2,101 kilometers of distribution lines and has a peak load demand of 23 megawatts, according to updated NEA reports.(CJ/jmm/ER)
