THE Department of Energy (DOE) has acknowledged “guerilla installers” of solar panels with questionable quality is a concern as it warned the public against patronizing these suppliers to avoid future problems.
In a statement, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.(PhilExport) said three officials from the department issued this warning at a recent forum on energy options for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which was organized December 10 of this year by Philexport to raise awareness among its members about emerging energy technologies.
Solar power is becoming an attractive option for handicraft producers in far-flung areas where electricity is unreliable, but decried the operational problems following the installation of solar panels.
In August this year, the City Government of Baguio adopted solar panel technology in three government buildings and facilities in its bid to reduce the city’s power consumption expenses.
Engineer Nazita Banez of the City Building and Architecture Office said the technology will be piloted through the solar power lighting and heating of the Olympic size swimming pool at the Baguio Athletic Bowl with a project cost-programmed at P19 million and was ready for bidding and targeted for implementation last October.
Other facilities being eyed for the solar power are the City Hall Annex and City Hall itself which Banez said will be pursued next year.
Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan earlier expressed high hopes for the novel project citing the benefits of solar power which is one of the preferred types of renewable energy.
The mayor in April signed Ordinance No. 43 series of 2018 adopting the use of energy conservation technologies and clean renewable energy in all of the City Government facilities and projects.
DOE further stated that in the absence of Tesda-trained technicians and engineers, the public “can always request our technical assistance at the Department of Energy, which will also provide the needed technical assistance.”
Fortunato Sibayan, division chief of the Solar and Wind Energy Management Division, said DOE at present does not have a registry of solar panel distributors but they have an upcoming project involving Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) certification for solar panel installers as well as Tesda training for technicians and engineers from local government units.
Sibayan disclosed that fly-by-night installers are also a concern for them since DOE has been receiving numerous calls about net metering facilities for solar power being installed but the metering is not accurate.