DOE reinforces contingency plan for energy facilities

By Myrna M. Velasco – August 4, 2019, 10:00 PM
from Manila Bulletin

The Department of Energy (DOE) is reinforcing and at the same time harmonizing the contingency plans of industry players and stakeholders so they can be efficiently prepped for the strike of disasters that may topple energy installations in the country.

Department of Energy (DOE) logo
(MANILA BULLETIN)

Prior to the wallop of another earthquake last week, the energy department had been at the process of coordinating with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) on updating the National Energy Contingency Plan – partly concretized through a two-day workshop that they had last month.

As targeted, both the public and private sectors are being engaged into crafting “a harmonized multi-sectoral preparedness and response measure for the energy sector.”

When it comes to the strike of typhoons, the Philippines is considerably in the “Pacific jinx” and it had also been frequently visited by earthquakes in the past months – and in these knock of natural calamities, the energy facilities were among those seen very high risk.

On that scale of vulnerability, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi asserted that “the DOE is committed to ensure the continuous delivery of energy to the people even in times of disaster.”

The energy chief emphasized “we are constantly working with our partners from both the public and private sectors to establish a strong culture of readiness, prompt response operations as well as enhance our rebuilding capacities.”

Cusi prodded key stakeholders in the energy sector to be “always ready given that a disaster may strike anywhere at any time.”

In the collaboration with PDRF, the energy department indicated that they are planning to develop a “Resiliency Compliance Plan” – that shall highlight the four primary aspects of energy security and preparedness – entailing the need for: systems; stockpiling; response and recovery; and strengthening of infrastructure.

Primarily, the DOE and PDRF highlighted the importance of “coordination and cross-sectoral cooperation in establishing resiliency measures.”

Butch Meily, president of PDRF stressed “we are stronger when we work together, that’s why a public-private sector partnership to strengthen resilience is so important.”