The recent growth in the use of sustainable renewable energy in the Philippines is brought by the decades-long problem of electric power supply. Both government and private sectors have been affected by the insufficient energy supply, hurting operations and services. With the innovative practices of some groups and organizations, solar power projects and other renewable energy source project were established through support mechanism from donors and aid providers. The impact of such to communities have been recognized, making operations and tasks more efficient despite the lack if funds in the purchase of the said facility and equipment.
This study is an impact assessment on the on the installation of the Hybrid Off-Grid (HOG) solar power project in the Viga Municipal Police Station (Viga MPSA), Catanduanes, a project that is believed to be the first of its kind to be installed in a municipal police station in the entire Philippines.
It answered problems on the level of its various impact to the police station’s administrative and police functions through examining factors affecting the nature of work and the desired outputs from the tasks of the police personnel.
It also discusses the problems and challenges encountered during the installation and use of the HOG solar power equipment.
Also part of the conduct of this study is determining the Viga MPS strategies and initiatives that may eventually be considered as “best practices” in utilizing the HOG solar power project, which could be used as benchmarks for innovative and transformative efforts in making policing successful.
This descriptive-quantitative study, which employed twenty-four (24) respondents, utilized standard survey questionnaires and interview guide questions, which were used during the Focus Group Discussion with key Viga MPS personnel, to gather primary data. Findings of the research state that the project installation is “impactful” to the administrative and operational functions of both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel in Viga MPS. Through there were problems encountered like the limited amount of energy supply generated by the HOG solar power setup and other challenges, it still successfully operates almost a year after its installation. Researchers of the study assertively recommend that an action plan must be undertaken in order to strengthen and enhance the usability of the said equipment and ensure its sustainability and replicability, and institutionalize its relevance to Community and Service-Oriented Policing (CSOP) towards ending the war against illegal drugs, local communist armed conflict, and in combating other forms of criminality.