CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS
VOL. 76, 2019
A publication of
The Italian Association
of Chemical Engineering
Online at www.aidic.it/cet
Guest Editors: Petar S. Varbanov, Timothy G. Walmsley, Jiří J. Klemeš, Panos Seferlis
Copyright © 2019, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.
ISBN 978-88-95608-73-0; ISSN 2283-9216
A Techno-Economic Assessment of Small Energy Access
Microgrids in the Philippines
Patricia Baricauaa, Eugene Esparcia Jr.a, Carl Michael Oduliob, Joey D. Ocona,*
aLaboratory of Electrochemical Engineering (LEE), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of the Philippines
Diliman, Philippines
bPower Electronics Laboratory, Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman
Philippines
jdocon@up.edu.ph
In an effort to expedite the electrification in off-grid areas in the Philippines, the Qualified Third Party (QTP)
scheme encourages private sector to engage in power generation and distribution business through competitive
selection, a process that requires at least two rival bidders with rigorous registration requirements. An exemption
is offered for microgrids with sub-100 kW capacity by not undergo competitive selection in order to further attract
investors and private sector to engage in these off-grid areas since these areas are deemed highly unviable.
The Department of Energy opened around 995 areas waived by electric cooperatives for third party servicing.
The sub-100 kW capacity can serve areas with fewer than 500 household connections, which fits the profile of
the 995 areas. In this work, the techno-economic feasibility of installation of sub-100 kW microgrids is done in
order to know the required level of subsidies, loans, and/or grants to sustainably operate in these areas. The
proposed microgrids were evaluated using ISLA, an open-source microgrid optimizer validated by HOMER Pro,
by finding the optimal system component sizes of solar PV, battery, and diesel generators with the least levelized
cost of electricity (LCOE). Initial results suggest initial investment cost for the establishment of 15 sub-100 kW
microgrids ranged from USD 0.5 to 1 M (~PHP 25 to 55 M), with LCOE averaged at PHP 10.26/kWh. This
corresponds to 30 % reduction relative to the LCOE from using diesel generator only. Strategies such as partial
financing and full grant of capital expenditures show that the former can provide generation rates at par with
typical generation rates of existing electric cooperatives at ~PHP 5 to 6 per kWh, while full subsidy can
significantly reduce the generation cost to PHP 2 to 3 per kWh. Providing long term and low interest rates from
financial institutions to fund these projects will help hasten the deployment of sub-100 kW microgrids. To achieve
financial sustainability in these areas, productive use of energy through income generating projects should be
highly encouraged in order to give the inhabitants the capacity to pay.
1. Introduction
There are still more than 2.36 M households in the Philippines that are yet to be electrified as of 2016. These
are situated on islands, remote, or mountainous regions which are considered unviable and missionary (IRENA,
2017). According to the Philippine Development Plan 2011 - 2016, the Philippine economy continues to develop,
and it is imperative that all Filipinos shall have access to basic necessities such as electricity as a tool to improve
the quality of life and standard of living (IRENA, 2017). Full electrification in the country has been a challenge
due to its archipelagic geography. In response to this, the Missionary Electrification Development Plan 2016 -
2020 by the Department of Energy (DOE) focuses on expediting the electrification by promoting private sector
participation to electrify the remaining unenergized areas. One scheme that enables privatization is the Qualified
Third Party (QTP), which opens to 3rd party providers the generation and distribution of electricity after
undergoing competitive selection process (CSP) (DOE, 2016). This intends to establish independent micro- or
mini- grids financed and operated by the private sector instead of the government.
Establishment of off-grid energy systems has already been employed to supply electricity, owing to the
archipelagic and mountainous geography of the Philippines. Currently, around 215 off-grid systems managed
by the government-owned National Power Corporation – Small Power Utilities Group (NPC-SPUG) supply
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DOI: 10.3303/CET1976162
Paper Received: 15/03/2019; Revised: 06/05/2019; Accepted: 13/05/2019
Please cite this article as: Baricaua P., Esparcia E.A., Odulio C.M.F., Ocon J.D., 2019, A Techno-Economic Assessment of Small Energy Access
Microgrids in the Philippines, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 76, 967-972 DOI:10.3303/CET1976162
manages the establishment of off-grid energy systems that supply the electricity to these areas not connected
to the main grid. These power plants are mostly operated using diesel generators that offer retail prices much
higher than grid electricity costs. Nonetheless, some studies in the Philippines explore the huge potential of
utilizing renewable energy (RE) sources, particularly for solar energy. From a study conducted by Ocon and
Bertheau, hybridizing the currently installed diesel plants to solar-battery-diesel systems can significantly reduce
the LCOE by 19.6 % (Ocon and Bertheau, 2019). Microgrid calculations were conducted to determine the
technical and economic feasibility of transforming the diesel systems into hybrid systems consisting of solar PVs
and batteries coupled with the existing diesel genset. Transformation to hybrid systems reduces reliance on
fossil fuels, promotes increase in RE usage, provides 24/7 access to residents and reduces emissions to the
environment (Ocon and Bertheau, 2019).
While NPC-SPUG strives to cover all areas for electrification, the DOE has opened for the entry of 3rd party
providers on servicing unviable areas expeditiously reach out to more areas. The 2017 memorandum by
National Electrification Administration (NEA) mandates that all areas within the franchise scope of electric
cooperatives (ECs), which have not been energized, must be waived for third-party providers to offer electricity
generation and distribution services. Majority of unenergized areas are situated in West Mindanao, South
Mindanao, and Bicol Region. As of 2018, about 995 areas have been waived for third-party providers, but very
few investors have expressed intent in serving these areas (DOE, 2018). A study by IRENA explored issues
surrounding the development of grids in the Philippines. Among the concerns raised are the (1) rigorous
application process for the entry of potential QTP, (2) lack of technical know-how and understanding of
renewable energy technology, (3) limited access to financing sources to establish and operate the grids, etc. It
is recognized that these issues are barriers in accelerating the deployment of hybrid systems that are necessary
to achieve 100 % electrification in the country.
The QTP guidelines were consequently revised aimed to attract investors to enter the market. To further promote
their participation, an incentive is given to small-scale demand areas qualifying below 100 kW capacity such
that a potential QTP need not undergo CSP. Most of the 995 areas that were opened for QTP are barangays,
the lowest governmental unit. The profiles of most of these areas can fit the 100 kW requirement for the
exemption and therefore a good starting point in attracting the entry of QTP.
Taking advantage of this incentive, techno-economic assessment of installing sub-100 kW microgrids is done
in order to assess the feasibility of operation and determine the required level of subsidies, loans, and/or grants
to establish and sustainably operate in these areas. The proposed microgrids were evaluated using Island
Systems LCOEmin Algorithm (ISLA), an open-source microgrid optimizer which is validated using HOMER Pro,
by finding the optimal energy systems configuration with the least levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) possible.
The study aims to profile the feasibility of microgrids in these areas to come up with a combination of technical
data and financing model which can serve as a reference for potential QTP investors.
2. Methodology
2.1 Estimation of Load
Load profile was taken from typical residential load pattern from MERALCO, an electric power distribution
company in the Philippines (Figure 1). Peak load was lifted from March 2018 performance report of the electric
cooperatives, normalized with the served household connections (HHC) to derive a factor of peak load per HHC
(Table 1). Number of unenergized HHCs are then multiplied to this factor to derive the estimation of the peak
load of an area. From this, sub-100 kW capacities can cater to around 250 to 500 HHCs. This magnitude is
suitable for sitio or small barangay (lowest administrative unit in the Philippines) which fits the profile of the 995
areas opened for QTP.
Table 1: Peak Load per HHC for select Electric Cooperatives (EC)
Electric Cooperative Peak Load (kW/HHC served) No. of HHC for 100 kW Peak Load
DASURECO (Davao) 0.35 285
CASURECO (Camarines Sur) 0.18 555
SORELCO (Sorsogon) 0.26 384
ZAMSURECO II (Zamboanga Del Sur) 0.32 312
2.2 Modeling the Microgrid Energy Systems
The proposed microgrids were evaluated using ISLA, an open-source microgrid optimizer by finding the optimal
system component sizes of solar PV, battery, and diesel generators with the least levelized cost of electricity
(LCOE). ISLA is validated using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER), a widely-used
simulation software developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that determines the best
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configuration or system architecture for a microgrid based on the levelized cost of electricity (He, et.al, 2017).
HOMER considers the load profile, the available renewable and non-renewable energy resources, system
components (such as solar PV, batteries, and generators), and economic factors (such as price of components,
interest rates and lifetime) to design the optimal system and calculate the resulting LCOE. It defines LCOE as
the average cost per kWh, $/kWh, of useful electrical energy produced and is calculated by:
𝐿𝐶𝑂𝐸 =
𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑛,𝑡𝑜𝑡
𝐸𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑
(1)
where 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑛,𝑡𝑜𝑡 is the total annualized cost ($/y) or the annualized value of the total net present cost and 𝐸𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑
is the total electrical load served by the system (kWh/y) (HOMER Energy, 2016).
Modeling of the configurations using ISLA determines the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) through
combinations of diesel genset, batteries and solar panels. In this study, three configurations were considered:
(1) Diesel only (2) Solar PV and Li-ion Battery (3) Hybrid: Solar PV – Battery – Diesel. Solar GHI data was
extracted from 2005 NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Database.
2.3 Techno-economic Parameters
Table 2 summarizes the techno-economic parameters used in optimization and simulation while Table 3 shows
the peak load and current power cost of sample area per electric cooperative. These areas were arbitrarily
chosen to cover 30 kW to 100 kW capacities for comparison. These parameters are input for the ISLA to evaluate
the system architecture, capacities of each component and the corresponding LCOE and CAPEX required.
Table 2: Techno-economic parameters used in simulations
Comp. Parameter Unit Value References
Diesel CAPEX $/kW 500
OPEX (var) $/kW h 0.03 (Blechinger, 2015)
Fuel Cost $/L 0.9
Lifetime h 15000
Solar PV CAPEX $/kW 1200 (Fu, et. al 2017)
OPEX (fix) $/kW y 25
Lifetime y 20 (Blechinger, 2015)
Li-ion CAPEX $/kWh 300 (DiOrio et. al. 2015)
OPEX (fix) $/kWh y 3
Lifetime y 10 (Moseley and Garche, 2015)
RT. Eff. 1 0.90
Project Interest Rate % 8
Inflation Rate % 6
Lifetime y 15
Table 3: Peak Load and Power Cost of sample area per electric cooperative
Electric
Cooperative
Area Peak Load
[kW]
Power Cost
[PHP per kWh]
SORELCO Esmerada 33.2 6.29
CASURECO Caditaan 62.3 5.66
ZAMSURECO Kasigpitan 81.9 6.60
DASURECO Baluntayan 99.4 6.07
To assess the techno-economic feasibility of the sub-100 kW microgrid, three (3) energy systems configurations
were considered in three (3) different financing strategies: No Subsidy, Partial Financing, and Full Financing.
The Full Financing strategy relies on grants by private sectors wherein the capital expenditures (CAPEX) have
all been covered and cost of electricity is reliant on operational expenses (OPEX). Partial Financing strategy
considers 50 % CAPEX covered while No Subsidy strategy accounts all CAPEX and OPEX in the LCOE
calculation.
3. Results and Discussions
Table 4 shows the LCOE requirement while Table 5 shows the CAPEX of different financing strategies and
different energy systems configuration of four electric cooperatives. In general, the calculated LCOE across the
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different peak loads vary by ~PHP 1 per kWh and averaged at PHP 10.26 per kWh. The hybrid systems offer
the lowest LCOE for all financing case scenarios, and deviation from diesel-only systems becomes more
pronounced as capital expenditure is reduced. The use of hybrid systems maximizes the delivery of solar power
coupled with batteries to address intermittency while relying on the diesel generator for base load, thereby
reducing the operational costs from using diesel fuel. In terms of CAPEX however, diesel-only systems require
significantly lower initial costs than systems with solar PV or BESS. This supports why off-grid electrification in
the country rely mostly on diesel power plants because of the low investment cost required to establish these
plants. Establishing a 100 % RE system such as solar PV-BESS, though offering lower LCOE, may be less
appealing due to the high CAPEX required as a result of oversizing of batteries and solar PVs to compensate
from the lack of base load from the diesel genset. Nonetheless, partial or full financing especially for missionary
electrification reduces both the initial capital costs and LCOE for hybrid systems, and therefore becomes more
economically attractive.
Table 4: LCOE requirements for different sub-100 kW capacities (in PHP/kWh)
Financing
Scenario
Configuration SORELCO
CASURECO
ZAMSURECO
DASURECO
No Subsidy Diesel 10.00 9.97 10.02 11.31
Hybrid 16.80 16.96 17.14 16.78
Solar PV-BESS 15.12 14.53 14.18 14.10
Partial Financing Diesel 6.44 6.40 6.50 6.50
Hybrid 10.10 10.12 10.66 10.14
Solar PV-BESS 14.95 14.36 13.83 13.92
Full Financing Diesel 2.14 2.13 2.16 2.17
Hybrid 2.74 2.75 2.80 2.82
Solar PV-BESS 14.77 14.19 13.83 13.75
Table 5: CAPEX requirements for different sub-100 kW capacities (in million PHP)
Financing
Scenario
Configuration SORELCO
CASURECO
ZAMSURECO
DASURECO
No Subsidy Diesel 19.07 35.40 49.40 55.79
Hybrid 36.07 70.45 96.30 108.35
Solar PV-BESS 0.96 1.79 2.57 2.86
Partial Financing Diesel 10.33 19.54 27.40 30.92
Hybrid 18.57 35.22 48.15 54.8
Solar PV-BESS 0.48 0.90 1.29 1.43
Figure 2 summarizes the comparison of LCOE values in different financial schemes. In all financing strategies,
the hybrid energy system provides the lowest LCOE while diesel only system provides the highest LCOE. The
capital requirements of putting up sub-100 kW microgrids ranges from USD 0.5 to 1 M(~PHP 20 to 55M), with
levelized cost at ~PHP 10.26 per kWh, which corresponds to 30 % reduction relative to the diesel generator
system only.
The average LCOE for different financing scenario suggests that Partial Financing can be at par with the
Subsidized Approved Generation Rate (SAGR), which is set by the Energy Regulatory Commission, at ~PHP
5.11 per kWh. Government subsidies amounting to PHP 30 million can finance a 100 kW microgrid that can
offer competitive pricing for generation cost. Meanwhile, Full Financing strategy is possible through grants and
donations by different sectors such as local government units, development assistance agencies, and private
sector. Although investing in solar PV and batteries require higher CAPEX, the energy system provides the
lowest LCOE due to low operational cost of solar PV relative to diesel generators only.
In terms of the capacity to pay of the residents, most of the unviable areas particularly in DASURECO rely on
farming and agriculture of corn for livelihood. From the study of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on the
Trends in Agricultural Wage Rates, the average income of corn farmers is PHP 246.05 per day, earning ~PHP
7,000.00 monthly. In another study on typical income class expenditure (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2019),
around 7.2 % of the income of the bottom 30 % income class is allotted to utilities (water, electricity) – amounting
to around PHP 500.00 to PHP 700.00 monthly for income range PHP 7,000.00 - PHP 10,000.00. Assuming half
for each utility, monthly budget allocated for electricity is PHP 250.00 - PHP 350.00. To put into perspective, a
sample household consuming 48.84 kWh for typical appliances (Table 4) can manage to pay their monthly
usage at an average budget of PHP 300.00 if the retail rate is around PHP 6.14 per kWh. Sample household
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energy values are based on the 2011 Household Energy Consumption Survey on the Philippines conducted
from March to August 2011 where 62.5 % of the household respondents belong to income class of less than
PHP 10,000.00 monthly. The survey reports that the top three end-uses for electricity are lighting, recreation
and space cooling (DOE & NSO, 2011). From the results, offering an LCOE near the SAGR, such as through
Partial Financing strategy, can make the microgrid economically sustainable and the residents are able to afford
their electricity use.
Figure 2: Case scenarios of LCOE simulations (dash: SAGR – PHP 5.11 per kWh)
Table 4: Sample calculation for household power consumption
End-use Type of Appliance Average 6-month
consumption per household
(kWh) (DOE & NSO, 2011)
Average monthly
consumption
(kWh)
Lighting Compact Fluorescent Lamp 37 6.17
Recreation Colored TV 103 17.17
Space Cooling Electric Fan 153 25.5
Total/month 48.84
The results should provide a ballpark insight for many stakeholders. In general, any financial support to hasten
the deployment of these declared unviable areas provides better solution both from the customers and the
financiers. To further boost the capacity of the residents to pay for energy cost, priority is given to include income-
generating projects appropriate to the area to ensure sustainability of the project. Aside from the techno-
economic viability to put up QTPs, resolving other issues such as long processing of permits from the
government hasten the microgrid development.
4. Conclusions
The techno-economic feasibility of sub-100 kW microgrids were evaluated for the electrification of some of the
unviable areas in the Philippines. The load profile (i.e. less than 100 kW capacity) of 995 areas waived for QTP
participation fit the exemption requirements for direct entry of microgrids and therefore a good starting point to
energize these remote areas. Off-grid systems simulated using ISLA reports 30 % decrease in the generation
cost using hybrid microgrid against diesel systems, with capital costs projected from USD 0.5 to 1 million (~PHP
20 to 55 million). Hybrid systems prove to be technically feasible in competing against diesel systems due to
cleaner and more sustainable renewable energy sources used, and the lower reliance to fossil fuels. Financing
strategies in terms of subsidies and grants were also explored to determine the level of funding required for a
sustainable operation of these microgrids. Even with partial financing, the resulting LCOE of the hybrid system
can be at par with the average grid cost which makes it more economically feasible than a diesel-only system.
This paper hopes to provide techno-economic insight on the potential of 995 unelectrified areas in the Philippines
for electrification and to serve as reference for potential QTP investors. Future works will include exploring the
techno-economic evaluation of microgrids with limited operation (i.e. less than 24 h operation) which is expected
to require less CAPEX, and therefore a good starting point in energizing the unviable areas. The steady decline
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of initial costs for solar PV and batteries may also be explored to determine how the financing shall be impacted
in the long run. On top of this techno-economic study, it is recommended that the application process for QTP
be further streamlined and simplified to expedite entry of 3rd party investors. Access to financing through
partnership with development banks, non-government organizations and crowd-sourcing can also open
opportunities for funding. Aside from residential electrification, priority should be given to income-generating
projects to boost the economy of the remote area, and therefore increasing the residents’ capacity to pay.
Acknowledgements
J. D. Ocon would like to thank the ASEAN Science and Technology Fellowship. P.T. Baricaua would like to
thank the support of DOE REAMD for providing the technical data for the 995 areas opened for 3rd party.
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