TAGUIG CITY – The Department of Energy (DOE) will ensure that the Philippine energy family will be fully prepared to support and respond to all energy-related concerns once the country embarks on its COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
“As pharmaceutical companies announced one vaccination breakthrough after another last year, the DOE already acknowledged its role once the country implements its COVID-19 vaccine program,” Secretary Cusi said.
Given the major logistical components and details involved, Secretary Cusi pointed out that the DOE will see to it that the entire energy family will be ready to cooperate, collaborate, and actively participate as 'backliners'.
“We will fully support our healthcare professionals, our local government units (LGUs), and all our frontliners in this endeavor,” he stressed.
In early January, the Secretary directed the DOE-led Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER) chaired by Undersecretary Alexander S. Lopez, as well as the Department's Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) to secure the availability of sufficient power supply to meet increased demand due to the forthcoming summer season and the anticipated arrival of COVID-19 vaccines.
The TFER and DOE-EPIMB hopes to craft concrete measures that will enable the energy family to (1) ensure continuous energy services in the health and storage facilities to be identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and local governments, and (2) enhance the energy sector’s restoration response capabilities should there be any power interruption.
Secretary Cusi said that the energy family would be able to better anticipate all potential scenarios by adopting a “pragmatic approach to the task at hand.”
“It would be foolish to totally eliminate or disregard the possibility for problems to arise. What we want is to equip the energy family with the solutions to address them in a swift and effective manner,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, DOE Spokesperson Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella said that the DOE-EPIMB will be working with the TFER to explore the feasibility of undertaking a “triple safeguard” approach to securing power services in vaccine storage and administration sites.
The approach, he said, will be similar to what was employed during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games which the country hosted.
According to Usec. Fuentebella, there would be three power backups under said set up. “The first line would be coming from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the second from the Distribution Utilities, while the third and final back up would be the generators provided by the facility itself or the local government unit,” he stated.
The DOE will be closely coordinating with the concerned government agencies, LGUs, and other related industries to help ensure the success of the national vaccination program.
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