The Quezon City jail seems to have found its own solution to the rising cost of electricity while keeping the inmates fit in just one sitting.

Last Tuesday, the detention facility unveiled its new invention – the “power bike” – which was conceptualized by Chief Superintendent Serafin Baretto Jr., Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Regional Director for the National Capital Region and built by jailguard PO3 Roderick Sienna who made use of his experience as a former race car mechanic of a known car manufacturing company.

The power bike is basically a bicycle mounted on a steel frame. Electricity is produced when an inmate pedals the stationary bicycle.

Its rear wheel is connected with a rubber drive belt to a dynamo which produces the needed electricity.

Sienna said, the “power bike” can charge a car battery for two to three hours which can supply electricity for eight hours.

The powerbike, which costs about P10,000, can be assembled using junk parts. It can also power 10 light bulbs and at least two electric fans.

“It is totally safe since it only produces a 12 volt output,” Sienna assured.

Baretto hopes to see more power bikes in other jails in Metro Manila after the successful pilot-testing of the power machine at the Quezon City Jail.

With almost 3,000 inmates at the QC jail, Baretto said it would be a good workout for them if each of the eight dormitories of the detention facility will be given a “power bike.”

“For only two minutes, each inmate can power the machine for more than 24 hours,” he said.

“This will also make the inmates more productive instead of doing nothing in jail,” he added.

The bike, according to Sienna can also be used in charging batteries of vehicles or powering up a larger dynamo that can help supply the electricity needs of the jail and further reduce electricity costs.

With the advent of the power bike, Quezon City jail warden Superintendent Nestor Velasquez is expecting that the monthly electric bills of the facility which costs P300,000 will be reduced by half.

“Nakakatulong na sa kalikasan, nakakatulong pa ito sa austerity measures ng gobyerno (Not only does it help the environment but it also helps in the government’s austerity measures,” Velasquez said.

Sienna said he initially thought of a windmill power device to be used by the BJMP while he was at a study program at the Jail National Training Institute in Laguna. But poured his creativity on the power bike project after Barreto suggested that this would be a valuable source of energy with the help of the inmates.

Sienna, however has not abandoned his windmill project.