According to a Philippines-based news source, the Department of Energy of the Philippines has created circular, an interagency committee, tasked with developing a smart grid policy framework and roadmap for the power industry.

With a population of more than 92 million people, the Philippines is the seventh most populated Asian country and the twelfth most-populated nation in the world. Topologically, the country is an archipelago of 7,107 islands, with a total land area of about 120,000 square miles.

The DOE has projected that the demand for power in the country soon will overtake the total installed generation capacity—and the agency has said further investments in the power sector are key to the vitality of the nation’s economy.

GMA News Online reports that the circular, signed by the Republic’s Energy Secretary, Carlos Jericho Petilla, communicates that the policy formulation committee “shall propose the national strategy for the smart grid for the period until 2030, with major consideration on the possible impact [on] the price of electricity.” 

Among the members of the new committee will be DOE personnel, and members of cooperating agencies—among them, the National Power Corp., the National Transmission Corp., the National Electrification Administration, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, and the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.

Other public-private constituents will be involved in the process as well.

The committee will prepare the transition policies and guidelines for the effective implementation of the Smart Grid by power generation companies, transmission companies, distribution utilities and other network service providers.

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which has been advocating the use of smart grid technology, lauded the new initiative, issuing a statement predicting that the next-generation platform will enable customers to take better control of their consumption.

“Customers will be empowered because they will see their consumption at hourly intervals and, thus, take the actions needed to meet their budgets, or else [to] reschedule activities to off-peak hours for lower rates. Globally, the experience has resulted [in] savings of 5 to 15 percent,” said Meralco senior vice president Alfredo Panlilio.

Meralco said it can also use Smart Grid to integrate its prepaid electricity service, which it is evaluating via a current pilot test in Angono, Rizal, scheduled to reach completion by the middle of the year.