The City of Bacoor in Cavite goes green with the inauguration of its second charging station for electric tricycles (Etrikes) this coming Friday, August 29, 2014 at the V Central Mall. To lead in the cutting of the ceremonial ribbon is Usec. Donato Marcos of the Department of Energy. This second charging station will be commercially operated by KEA Industrial Corporation, a local assembler of ETrikes with a manufacturing plant in Barangay Mambog IV, Bacoor City.

The very first ETrike charging station situated at McDonald’s St. Dominic was completed by KEA last May 2014, inaugurated last June 2014 and donated to the Bacoor City LGU. Under a memorandum of agreement with the City of Bacoor initiated by Mayor Strike Revilla, KEA has committed to build a network of seven strategically-located ETrike charging stations in Bacoor City, three of which will be donated to the city. The two other charging stations donated will soon be constructed, one at the old City Hall and another at the new City Hall.

Edgardo Araga, KEA President, said that on top of the ETrike charging station at the V Central Mall that it operates, KEA will also erect and operate three other charging stations at Jolibee Zapote-Kalinisan, SM City Bacoor and Mabolo 1. “These will all be completed within the next twelve months to provide the needed charging infrastructure to support the initial eight ETrikes that Bacoor City purchased from us. These ETrikes are now running around after it was delivered to Mayor Revilla last March 2014 in a ceremony witnessed by Congresswoman Lani Mercado-Revilla and the City Council members”.

Araga also explains that the entire domestic electric vehicle industry is elated with the inclusion of EV parts and components and charging stations in the 2014 Investments Priority Program of the Board of Investments. This will give program participants some fiscal and non-fiscal incentives if they invest in these sectors.

KEA manufactures and sells two versions of the ETrike: the “Bailey” passenger model and the “Rhine” pickup type model for business application. “We started commercial production only exactly a year ago and now, we are proud to say that our ETrikes have been subjected to and have passed stringent endurance, performance and durability tests on actual commercial runs for over nine months. We are now in phase 2 of our drive to sell more ETrikes by putting up in advance the necessary infrastructure such as charging stations for the convenience of the ETrike operators. We hope that with the charging stations in place, more tricycle operators will soon shift to the environment-friendly, more economical ETrikes”, Araga concludes.