Abra lone district Rep. JB Bernos on Thursday called on the government to consider replicating a neighboring country’s initiative that would help residents finance a shift to solar energy.

Thailand recently launched a 50-billion baht (about USD1.48 billion) nationwide home solar program that will allow households to receive support for rooftop photovoltaic projects.

The program, which offers a 50,000-baht subsidy per household, targets to benefit about one million households.

“This is a program worth replicating here, and I hope that our government consider implementing a similar scheme to help Filipino households save on electricity costs by shifting to solar energy,” Bernos said in a news release.

The lawmaker, who has been advocating for the mainstreaming of renewable energy sources to reduce the country’s dependence on traditional non-renewable sources, such as fossil fuels, urged the government to study the feasibility of embarking on a similar subsidy program.

Bernos is the author of House Bill 3126, or the On-Grid Solar Energy Systems bill, which seeks to mandate the establishment of on-grid solar energy systems in all national and local government-owned buildings and offices to reduce electricity costs.

“I definitely think it’s worth looking at. At the very least, let’s conduct a study on the costs and benefits of such a program,” he said.

“Kung makita natin na malaki ang maibabawas sa gastusin ng mga kababayan natin, at makatulong din ito sa pag-stabilize ng power supply natin para naman sa ibang industriya, hindi ba’t win-win situation ito na magiging magandang pamana ng gobyerno sa sambayanang Pilipino (If we see that this will significantly reduce the expenses of our fellow citizens and also help stabilize our power supply for other industries, isn’t this a win-win situation that would serve as a great legacy of the government for the Filipino people)?” Bernos said. (PNA)