Puerto Princesa City — On May 16, U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson led the turnover of three U.S.-government donated mobile energy systems (MES) that will provide safe, reliable, and sustainable electricity to remote communities in Palawan.
Joining Ambassador Carlson during the ceremony at the National Power Corporation (NPC) Irawan Switching Station in Puerto Princesa City were Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Raphael Lotilla, NPC President Fernando Roxas, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn, and DOE Undersecretary Giovani Bacordo.
“The MES are not just equipment. They are essential tools of resilience and innovation that have been proven to provide power to some of the most remote locations in the country,” Ambassador Carlson said in her remarks. “On behalf of the U.S. government, I thank the DOE, the NPC, the Energy Regulatory Commission, and all our partners for their leadership and collaboration in making sure that no Filipino is left in the dark, no matter where they live.”
The MES will be integrated into microgrids maintained by the NPC, delivering life-sustaining power to some of the most remote and disaster-prone locations in the country.
Each MES unit is equipped with 9.18 kW of solar panels and a battery capacity of up to 70 kilowatt-hours—enough to power 10 Filipino households for a day. On a single charge, it can support a disaster response team for a full week, providing power for satellite internet connectivity, five computers, ten mobile phones, ten two-way radios, and two electric fans.
This is the latest batch of MES units donated by the United States to support the Philippines in achieving its energy goals under USAID’s Energy Secure Philippines program. In 2024, the U.S. government turned over one MES unit to the DOE’s Emergency Operations Center in Manila and two MES units to the municipalities of Lal-lo and Santa Ana in Cagayan.
Four more MES units will be deployed in the Philippines later this year.
“Since launching the first MES unit last year, we have witnessed the MES units’ potential in action—from powering the DOE Emergency Operations Center during a blackout to enabling real-time government services in typhoon-hit areas of Cagayan,” Ambassador Carlson added. “These mobile systems are flexible and are proven to provide reliable power to local communities across the Philippines.”
