THE Department of Energy (DOE) has officially proposed to President Marcos an administrative order that aims to speed up the implementation of energy efficiency policies to generate as much as P7 billion in peso savings or about 347.42 MW in energy savings.
“The DOE has submitted to the Office of the President a proposed Administrative Order that will further accelerate the implementation of these policies/resolutions, which is expected to result in annual government savings of almost P7 billion or equivalent to an energy savings of 347.42 MW,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
He noted that as of December 13, the government has saved P284.93 million from existing policies related to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act of 2019.
The DOE, through the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC), has issued various resolutions to reduce the consumption of electricity and fuel by the government by at least 10 percent consistent with the provisions of the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP).
These include using energy-efficient LED lamps and inverter-type air-conditioning or similar equivalent technologies in all government entities, local government units (LGUs), and foreign services posts. These resolutions also aim to augment the country’s economic recovery due to the adverse effect of the steep global prices of petroleum products in the local market and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is on the part of the government alone. If the private sector can be more fully mobilized voluntarily and empower itself through efficient energy management, we can achieve more,” Lotilla said.
To date, Lotilla said 4,241 designated establishments from the commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors are implementing various projects to reduce their energy consumption.
These projects had a total investment worth P4.5 billion or an equivalent of 491.75 gigawatt-hours of energy savings.
“We are working to increase these numbers,” Lotilla said.