Household Electricity Access Using ESMAP’s

Multi-Tier Framework: Case Study of the

Off-Grid Community in Gilutongan Island,
Cordova, Cebu, Philippines

Isabelo Rabuya, Francisco Largo, Gelly Ann Zamora,

Christopher Bacungan, Luzvisminda Bellotindos,
AbuBakr Bahaj

2nd International Conference on Energy Economics

(ENERCON 2018), July 19-20, 2018, Alabang, Muntinlupa,
Manila, Philippines
Outline
 Introduction
 Multi-Tier Framework of Energy Access
 Research Environment
 Methodology
 Results
 Conclusion and Recommendations
Introduction
 Access to energy: vital to economic, social and human
development
 Philippine electrification rate – 89%: >10M Filipinos do
not have access to electricity
 SDG7: key to economic development and attainment
of other SDG's
 Binary metric of energy access: simple but crude
 Multi-Tier Framework: defines and measures access to
energy in terms of quality attributes and tier levels
 Accurate knowledge of EA situation: important in
formulating policy and to channel resources towards
solving critical problems
 Multi-Tier Framework of EA (ESMAP)
TIER 0 TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3 TIER 4 TIER 5
1. Peak Power Min 3 W Min 50 W Min 200 W Min 800 W Min 2kW
Capacity capacity
ratings (in W Min 12 Wh Min 200 Wh Min 1.0 kWh Min 3.4 kWh Min 8.2 kWh
or daily Wh)
OR Services Electrical
lighting, air
Lighting of circulation,
1,000 lmhr/day television, and
phone charging
are possible
2. Availability Hours per day Min 4hrs Min 4hrs Min 8hrs Min 16hrs Min 23hrs
(Duration)
ATTRIBUTES

Hours per
evening
Min 1hr Min 2hrs Min 3hrs Min 4hrs Min 4hrs
3. Reliability
Max 14 Max 3 disruptions
disruptions per week of total
per week duration <2 hrs

4. Quality Voltage problems do not affect the

use of desired appliances
5. Affordability Cost of a standard consumption package of 365
kWh/year <5% of household income
6. Legality Bill is paid to the utility, prepaid card seller,
(Formality) or authorized representative
7. Health & Absence of past accidents and perception
Safety of high risk in the future
Research Environment (Location)

Cebu

Lapulapu City

Cordova

Gilutongan
Island

Bohol

© Google Earth

Gilutongan Island, Cordova

Cebu, Philippines
10˚12’24.24”N
123˚59’18.88”E
Research Environment (Admin Info)
 Land area of 11.26 ha; island barangay of the
municipality of Cordova; 10 ha originally declared as
MPA
 5.3 km from the port of Cordova; 16.5 km from Cebu
City
 30 min away by pumpboat ride from the port of
Cordova
 Typical south sea climate with temperatures ranging
from 18˚C to 35˚C
 1,875 residents in 342 households (2017 data from
LGU)
Methodology
 Household survey to obtain data on: electric-powered
HH appliances/devices, operating time, power
disruptions, damage to appliances, payment amount,
collection method, electricity-related accidents, and
other relevant data
 Survey data from 304 out of 342 households
distributed in 4 puroks
 Simple random sampling, stratified by purok
 Interview of barangay officials and electrician
 Spot measurement of system voltage at various points
 Recording of generator load profile
Results (Household Profile)
 Average members per household: 5.5
 Average daily household income: PhP 336
 Primary sources of income: fishing, seaweed farming,
sari-sari store vending, shell gleaning, fresh seafood
vending, labor services
 Houses are mostly made of light materials; almost all
of the residents are illegal settlers
 48% elementary school graduates; 27% elementary
school level; 19% HS graduates or HS level; 3.3%
college graduates or college level; 0.7% no formal
schooling
Results (Island Electricity Profile)
 Main community electricity source: 155 kW diesel
generator set operated by barangay LGU
 Generator operating time: 6-10:30PM
 Electricity fee: PhP 7 per lighting fixture; PhP 8 per
power outlet; collected daily
 Barangay electricity distribution system is highly sub-
standard
 Integrated basic education school electricity source:
5.2 kW solar PV system donated by SunEdison; also
powers barangay hall during daytime
 Some residents own small diesel generators; some
have solar home systems (SHS)
 Results
Household energy sources (does not include cooking)
Solar from
Access to Barangay Self-Owned Solar
SHS other Battery Kerosene Flashlight Candle
Electricity Generator Generator Lamp/Light
sources
WITHOUT - - - - - 9 1 3 -

WITH 292 2 33 5 2 155 60 61 5

TOTAL 292 2 33 5 2 164 61 64 5

Results
Peak Capacity
0.7%

3.9% 95.4%

No electricity Solar Lantern

Rechargeable Battery Fossil-based Generator
Large SHS/Fossil-based Generator Large fossil fuel-based generator, grid
Results
Availability (Duration) 0.3%

3.6% 96.1% DAY

0 hr less than 4 hrs 4-8 hrs 8-16 hrs 16-22 hrs more than 22 hrs

4% 96% EVENING
0 hr less than 1 hr 1-2 hrs 2-3 hrs 3-4 hrs 4 hours or more
Results
Reliability
4% 96%
More than 14 4-14 less than 4(and less than 2 hrs)
Results
Quality
2% 98%
Low voltage Good voltage
Results
Affordability
99% 1%

more than 5% and less than 1kWh/day less than 5% and min 1kWh/day
Results
Legality (Formality)
4% 96%

Informal Formal
Results
Health and Safety
12% 88%
Accidents No Accidents
Results
Tier level household summary

TIER 0 TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3 TIER 4 TIER 5 Index

1. Peak
Capacity
12 - - 290 2 - Tier 3
2. Availability 11 292 - - 1 - Tier 1
(Duration)
12 - - 292 - - Tier 3
ATTRIBUTES

3. Reliability - 12 292 Tier 5

4. Quality 6 298 Tier 5
5.
Affordability 300 4 Tier 1

6. Legality 11 293 Tier 4

7. Health &
Safety
35 269 Tier 4
Findings
 Computation of HH energy consumption is not
straightforward: lamps are not charged if communal
use, outlets can be used in octopus connections, fee is
not uniform. Complicates computation of Affordability
 Sub-standard distribution system limits the system’s
Peak Capacity. HH far from the source have below
acceptable voltage (Quality). Resort to using AVR’s
 Reliability is a potential issue in the long term as
collected funds are just enough for diesel fuel
 Availability (Duration) is highly limited because of cost
constraints
Conclusion and Recommendations
 MTF is a useful guide in obtaining and presenting a
comprehensive profile of electricity access in a small,
off-grid island
 The attributes of Affordability and Availability
(Duration) are the biggest constraints towards
improved electricity access in Gilutongan

 Policy review on the distribution of Universal Charge

for Missionary Electrification (UCME) to allow wider
coverage especially in highly EA-deficit areas
 Further MTF-based studies in other small, off-grid
islands to get a regional/national profile