MEDIA RELEASE
December 27, 2012
(Taguig City) The Department of Energy (DOE) formally launched its 2012-2030 Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) which aims to ensure a stable, secure, sustainable, and reasonably-priced energy.
In cognizance of the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of year 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, the PEP envisions to build a low carbon economy through various initiatives, such as: tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, promotion of energy efficiency as a way of life, as well as advocacy for alternative energy to attain 30% adoption of alternative fuels to power public utility vehicles.
Assessing the energy needs of the country over the next 20 years, the Department of Energy (DOE) considered factors, such as: 10% annual energy savings, increase in the number of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-fed buses and deployment of CNG taxis, electric vehicles, and application of higher biofuel blends (biodiesel and bioethanol). To manage the country’s energy demand, the Plan includes energy-saving strategies to scale-up energy efficiency programs for private and public establishments
In addition, Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla emphasized that the Plan strengthens the foundation of DOE’s previous energy framework towards the achievement of the sector’s long-term goals.
“You may see that this Plan is similar to the previous energy plan, we just updated the figures. We have to take note that a plan that changes annually is not a good plan. There must be some consistency so that measures and policies that are originally envisioned to have long-term benefits will be effective,” Sec. Petilla said.
The three pillars of the Aquino Administration’s Energy Reform Agenda continue to contribute to the Plan’s objectives, but to enhance public participation, Sec. Petilla highlighted that transparency is needed to enable decisions and implementation to be done according to established rules and regulations. This will also ensure that adequate and reliable information are directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions.
“Transparency is a key factor to the success of any market driven industry such as energy. The energy industry is a complex industry but there is a way to laymanize things. By making it more basic and understandable for the public, we will be able to provide transparency which is greatly needed in this sector since energy is one of the most important basic necessities,” Sec. Petilla further explained.
Like the rest of the world, the Philippines is facing a moment of decision in terms of using energy in a more environment-friendly way. Thus the plan identifies the energy pathways towards a low carbon economy and identifies the most efficient energy options.
The launch was held at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Intercontinental-Makati on 19 December 2012 with 370 attendees from the international community, Congress, local government units, private sector, and the academe.
