Exec: Philippines committed to fulfill APEC goals

CEBU, Philippines- The Philippines, through the Department of Energy, has reaffirmed its commitment to the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference’s unified goal of building strong partnerships towards economic development.

“We are optimistic that with APEC support, our vision of harmonization and connectivity will come to excellent productive realization,” said Undersecretary Donato Marcos of the Department of Energy Marcos in his speech in yesterday’s opening ceremony of the 46th Meeting of the APEC Experts Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EGEE&C).

The EGEE&C is a biannual forum of APEC member-economies that promotes energy conservation and application of energy efficiency practices and technologies as the group’s contribution to the international efforts in reducing the adverse impacts of increasing energy production and consumption.

The coming APEC EGEE&C meeting will tackle developments on smart grids, energy management systems, standards and labeling, energy intensity reduction, and transport fuel efficiency, among others.

Marcos said the Philippines has come up with an energy efficiency roadmap and its corresponding energy efficiency and conservation action plan that would be implemented in 2016 to 2020.

This roadmap, he said, is envisioned to be DOE’s master plan in achieving energy efficiency and pushing conservation programs and activities to higher levels.

It is also intended to define the role of government in coming up with a range of measures aimed at improving energy efficiency, as driven by legislative orders and decreased targeting energy savings programs.

Marcos said DOE has targeted five energy-intensive sectors in the action plan, namely: cross sectoral, transport, industry, commercial, and residential buildings.

“As we shift to a higher gear of a more dynamic approach and long-term sustainability, we value the strong support from our different stakeholders and key players of the energy sector. We recognize the importance of addressing energy issues relevant to economic growth and development, such as development and promotion of renewable energy,” he said.

Marcos also said the Philippines is aggressive in the promotion and installation of renewable energy.

He cited the country ranking second on the list of highest and largest geothermal producers in the world, with 1,868 megawatts installed capacity as of 2013, or an equivalent of 10.78 percent of the total installed capacity in the country.

For the hydro sector, the installed capacity is 3,521 MW, or 20.32 percent of the total, while 153 MW is sourced from wind, solar and biomass, with a realized self-sufficiency of 56 percent.

For the Philippines’ energy conservation programs, Marcos said it has generated an energy savings of 1.6 million tons of oil in 2013.

He said the APEC meetings will once again strengthen closer relationships among APEC member economies to promote energy conservation and energy efficiency practices and technologies. (FREEMAN)