The Philippine energy sector is poised to receive assistance amounting to P9 billion from the European Union (EU), a move intended to sustain and develop the cooperation between the country and the delegation.
As a focal sector for EU development cooperation with the Philippines, EU has earmarked P9 billion out of an overall cooperation budget of more than P17 billion to the energy sector for the period 2014 to 2020.
EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said that out of this P9 billion, P3 billion will be granted to the Access to Sustainable Energy Program (ASEP), a join undertaking of the EU and the Department of Energy meant to promote renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency in the country.
ASEP, which was launched on Friday, aims to provide clean energy solutions to 100,000 households or roughly 500,000 people; add 20 megawatts of additional renewable energy projects; and improve energy efficiency and generate savings of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a power plant of 50 megawatts.
DOE Undersecretary and Spokesperson Wimpy Fuentebella told reporters that while there is still no specific projects injected into ASEP, the agency is thinking if they could tap it to ensure the sustainability of Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) system in the country.
Under the FIT, the government guarantees RE developers a constant generation rate per KWh over the next 20 years, with periodic reviews by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to adjust rates for foreign exchange and inflation.
He also said the program could be used to make the country’s energy system more efficient by improving the sector’s IT connectivity.
The Manila Bulletin
by Madelaine B. Miraflor
October 8, 2016