U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson on 16 May led the turnover of three mobile energy systems (MES) donated by the U.S. government to provide safe, reliable and sustainable electricity to remote communities in Palawan.

The handover ceremony took place at the National Power Corporation (NPC) Irawan Switching Station in Puerto Princesa City, with key officials in attendance, including Philippine Department of Energy 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 units will be integrated into microgrids operated by NPC and are expected to deliver power to disaster-prone and geographically isolated areas.

Each MES unit includes 9.18 kilowatts of solar panels and a battery capacity of up to 70 kilowatt-hours—enough to power 10 Filipino households for a day. On a full charge, it can also support a disaster response team for one week, providing electricity for satellite internet, five computers, 10 mobile phones, 10 two-way radios, and two electric fans.

This batch of MES units is part of the ongoing assistance 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 others to the municipalities of Lal-lo and Santa Ana in Cagayan.

Four more MES units are expected to be deployed across the country 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.”