Gov’t eyes ADB financing to accelerate energy efficiency, conservation program

By Alena Mae S. Flores – August 28, 2024, 6:50 pm
from manilastandard.net

Asian Development Bank

The Department of Energy (DOE) will need P10 billion over a five-year period starting 2026 to finance the accelerated implementation of the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP).

The GEMP aims to reduce the whole government’s electricity and fuel consumption by at least 10 percent through energy efficiency and conservation (EEC) strategies.

“We already have the strategies in place so what we’re working on is the financing. So we’re trying to come up with a facility through the DOF (Department of Finance) in collaborating with our development partners,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said at the sidelines of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines’ Energy Smart Forum 2024.

Fuentebella said DOE is in talks with the Asian Development Bank to fund GEMP’s EEC strategies, which would need around P2 billion in annual expense starting 2026.

“We have spoken to ADB and then we will also talk with the others. If it doesn’t, we’ll have to look for the best,” he said.t

Fuentebella said the DOE is looking at concessional loans and/or overseas development assistance to fund the accelerated implementation of GEMP.

The DOE welcomed the signing by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of Administrative Order (AO) No. 15 in January which directs the accelerated implementation of the GEMP.

AO 15 highlights the implementation of Republic Act No. 11285 or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) Act in all government entities under the executive branch, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs), their subsidiaries and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

The GEMP implementation is guided by the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC) created under the EEC Act.

IAEECC is tasked to prepare an annual assessment of opportunities for energy cost reduction in all government instrumentalities and mandating the adoption of energy-efficient measures and technologies.

The government reached electricity savings of more than P300 million or an equivalent of over 30 million kilowatts and more than P25 million in fuel savings or an equivalent of 386,083.59 liters of fuel in 2023, with the institutionalization of GEMP.

These savings are the result of 1,210 audited government offices out of the estimated 8,000 total entities identified.

The DOE said the accelerated implementation of GEMP under AO 15 is estimated to result in up to nearly P2 billion in savings for both electricity and fuel, based on the average savings from 2023.