Philippines: DOE holds public consultation on RE Portfolio Standards

Philippines: DOE holds public consultation on RE Portfolio Standards

The Department of Energy (DOE) through the National Renewable Energy Board
(NREB) held a public consultation on the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
rules, a means of support for the implementation of laws advocating for the
use renewable energy (RE) resources.

Antonio Labios, Visayas Field Office DOE director, said RPS aims to
contribute to the growth of the RE industry by diversifying energy supply,
and to address various environmental concerns by reducing harmful emissions.

Among the laws covered in RPS include the Republic Act (RA) No 7638 or the
"Department of Energy Act (DOE) of 1992," RA 9136 or the "Electric Power
Industry Reform Act" (EPIRA), and RA 9513 or the "Renewable Energy Act (RE
Act) of 2008."

The DOE Act of 1992 declares as a policy of the State to ensure a
continuous, adequate, and economic supply of energy through integration with
the country's indigenous energy resources.

The EPIRA, also a declared policy of the State, aims to ensure the quality,
reliability, security, and affordability of the supply of electric power.

EPIRA mandates the DOE to encourage private sector investments in the
electricity sector to promote the development of indigenous and RE
resources.

The RE Act, moreover, is also a declared policy of State seeking to increase
the utilization of the renewable energy (RE) by institutionalizing the
development of national and local capabilities in the use of RE systems.

According to Juan Antonio Bernad, vice chair of the NREB, the provisions
crafted in RPS are friendly, reasonable, and will not create a significant
or negative impact especially to consumers.

Atty. Jose Layug Jr., chairman of the NREB, has also presented the National
RE program (NREP) in the Philippines with a roadmap running for six years.

The NREP has set its thrusts and mission which includes the exploration and
development of the utilization of RE resources, promotion of the efficient
and cost-effective use of commercial RE systems, and the use of indigenous
materials in generating RE.

NREP also aims to become proactive in coordinating with all government
agencies' energy committees and to complete all the pending rules concerning
RE since 2008.

The program started in 2016 and shall be fulfilled by the year 2022.

It has also specifically set its goal in increasing its RE sources with an
incremental rate of 1.6% per annum to achieve its target share of 35 % by
the year 2022.

According to Layug, however, the government has extended NREB's planning
horizon of its program to the year 2040, thus making its target share
possible to achieve.

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Link to Original Article:
http://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1061503386547

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com