Power industry players laud President’s energy policy

By Alena Mae S. Flores – July 23, 2024, 8:15 pm
from manilastandard.net

Power industry players have expressed their support to the energy policy spelled out by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his third State of the National Address Monday as he pushed for energy security, affordable electricity and stronger power grid.

Transmission operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines thanked the President for his continuing support in the ensuring a reliable and resilient transmission sector.

NGCP said the President’s mention of the Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose 500kV line, Cebu-Negros-Panay 230kV backbone, the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection and the Cebu-Bohol Interconnection project in the SONA is a clear sign that its hard work is recognized as having made a positive impact and is fully aligned with his vision for a strong economy.

“As we are all working towards ensuring the reliability of the country’s transmission network for a more resilient power industry, we reiterate our call for a more coordinated, resource adequacy based, and holistic approach to energy planning, that considers the three main links to the energy supply chain: supply, bulk transmission, and retail distribution,” it said.

“NGCP is ready to serve. With this, attention can now be properly trained at ensuring enough investments in the generation sector to meet increasing demand,” NGCP said.

Manila Electric Co., the largest power retailer, also lauded the President for addressing the cost of electricity that impacts on Filipino consumers.

“We have always been supportive of the government and fully cooperate in efforts to review relevant initiatives and policies that are intended for consumer protection and improvement of the energy industry. We will continue to advance programs in coordination with government in order to help us achieve stable, reliable and competitively priced electricity that will benefit electricity end-users and drive the country’s economic growth,” Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco PowerGen Corp. president Emmanuel Rubio said they are committed to investing in power generation projects that would help address the Philippines power requirements and meet the continuously growing energy demand.

“Our portfolio of generation assets includes utility scale projects using renewable and advanced technologies that will provide stable, adequate, cost efficient and reliable electricity now and in the future,” Rubio said.

Developers of Renewable Energy for AdvanceMent (DREAM) president Jay Layug said the President’s focus on NGCP’s completion of key upgrades such as the Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose, Cebu-Negros-Panay, Cebu-Bohol and Mindanao-Visayas transmission lines and backbone projects bodes well for the future of the electric power industry and the goal to reduce the cost of power.

DREAM is the umbrella organization of renewable energy associations in the Philippines.

“We also laud the President for his firm and calibrated resolve to transition the Philippines to more renewables and cleaner forms of energy. With the aggressive push for these resources, we hope to reduce the impact of supply gap in the coming years and avoid spikes in electricity prices,” Layug said.

Tetchi Capellan, chair of the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance, said the successful interconnection of islands and the realization of having one grid is a major achievement of Marcos administration. “It offers a clear pathway to decarbonization and ensures the steady growth of renewable energy. It is also encouraging to hear the commitment of the Marcos administration to full electrification of off grid communities. Their energization guarantees a just transition especially when renewable energy becomes a solution to their dependence on expensive fossil fuel operated power plants,” Capellan said.

“Solar energy is now the cheapest form of electricity worldwide. Paired with storage, it is a near term strategy to address high electricity cost. We applaud the President in sustaining its effort toward building renewables and contributing to the global movement to achieve net zero emissions regime,” she said.

ACEN Corp. president Eric Francia said the completion of major transmission lines across the country is a truly significant feat. “The critical next step is to expand other parts of the grid, and add critical sub-stations to enable the connection of several generation assets,” he said.