DOE to start accepting proposals for CFL project

The Department of Energy (DOE) will start accepting proposals for its multi-million dollar compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) project.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the DOE will start procuring five million units of CFLs next week.

“The DOE is now inviting proposals for the methodology and cost of distribution of the initial batch of five million CFLs to residential customers and incandescent bulb users in the Metropolitan areas of Manila and the cities of Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao,” Reyes said.

Reyes said proposals may be sent through [email protected] not later than Nov. 3. He said the DOE will exercise utmost transparency in the procurement of the CFLs.

The procurement, according to Reyes, is in line with the Philippine Energy Efficiency Project (PEEP), which aims to provide direct economic benefits to the country by reducing energy peak demand and the needed imported oil for power generation.

The project, which is now on its first phase, will feature, among others, the replacement of 13 million incandescent bulbs with CFLs. It aims to achieve the following benefits: reduce peak demand by 450MW, reduce oil imports by $120 million each year, defer power generation by 1,300MW or $300 million, clean development mechanism (CDM) revenues of about $10 million for 2010-2012 (the Kyoto Protocol), and create an energy efficient market.

Other than energy light bulbs, the following components form part of the project: government retrofit, public lighting retrofit, expansion of energy efficiency labeling, lamp waste facility, super ESCO (Energy Service Company), green building initiatives and communication, and social mobilization.

Reyes, said PEEP is a part of the Switch Movement, a campaign which was launched by President Arroyo last July 16.

“Switch is a movement that seeks to demonstrate how ordinary Filipinos and specific sectors of Philippine society can contribute substantively, and I think that this mindset is very important.

“Every one of us here today can actually make a contribution to address the issue of energy security. I believe that we need to act in the here and now to ensure that we can reap the success of our efforts soon.”

Energy Efficient Lighting Systems (EELs) will form the first phase of the entire campaign. The PEEP is supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The DOE plans to establish three to five distribution channels involving the academe, the civil society, non-government organizations (NGOs), government agencies, and the private sector to ensure largest possible reach and an effective distribution of the CFLs.