Group asks Marcos gov't to expand RE access 

An environmental advocacy group is urging the incoming Marcos administration to take bolder steps in effecting the country’s shift to renewable energy (RE), according to a report by Philippine Star.

The Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) is pushing for the expansion of the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) provision of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2021 to include electricity end-users who, despite having low consumption, have the capacity to transition to RE.

Felix Vitangcol, co-convenor of PBEST, said in a statement that the country’s new set of leaders should prioritize strengthening public infrastructure, specifically access to reliable power sources, given current and future risks that may threaten the pace of economic recovery here.

“Renewable energy is the future. It is our key to achieving power stability and resilience without being subject to external circumstances,” he said, citing the impending depletion of the Malampaya gas field by the end of this decade, the prolonged volatility caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and outdated power infrastructure in many places in the country that makes electricity prices here one of the highest in the region.

“Thus, as many Filipinos as possible should be given the capacity to access RE even if they are not among the biggest consumers of electricity.”

According to Vitangcol, the present implementing rules and regulations of the EPIRA should be changed, expanding the threshold timeline to 10 kW from 99 kW instead of waiting another year to allow more industries and their infrastructures to enter and utilize RE.

“Limiting the participants to those with at least 100 kW consumption for the preceding 12 months would be disadvantageous and will only hinder the mass public transition to RE,” Vitangcol said.

In a recent virtual townhall discussion of Stratbase ADR Institute in partnership with PBEST, Yoly Crisanto, SVP and chief sustainability officer at Globe Telecom pointed out the energy consumption gap and the need for more energy.

“Why not invest in more renewables, solar, wind, and all of the other renewables that are out there, and what we need is a massive adoption of renewables across organizations including the small and medium enterprises which make up 99.5 percent of all businesses in this country, and households,” she said.

“If we have more renewable investments, there would be more choices for consumers, and potentially lower cost of energy,” Crisanto said.

“What I see is not a crisis, but an opportunity – an opportunity to address the challenges of Philippine society. It is also an opportunity to build a more sustainable environment,” said Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase ADRi.

“Investment must reduce carbon emissions, make our communities more climate resilient, and create circular mechanisms for resource demand and consumption. The private sector must seek to make investments which comply with international standards for environment, social, and governance,” Manhit said.