Top officials from Meralco, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Province and City of Batangas were on hand to inaugurate the electrification of Isla Verde last Feb. 15.

The result of a collaboration by the Batangas City Local Government Unit, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Meralco, a 32-kilowatt (kW) solar panel microgrid and 192 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery storage facility was formally switched on during the inauguration.

The project is Meralco’s first solar microgrid – small-scale power grids that can be operated independently from the country’s interconnected network of power transmission facilities. It supports the distribution utility’s initiatives towards using more sustainable energy sources and highlights efforts on rural electrification, a point of focus by President Rodrigo Duterte, who has said that he wanted to put a stop to hurdles in the electrification of rural areas.