New DOE circulars seen as shield vs price shocks

MANILA, Philippines — New circulars issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) which will take effect this month are expected to help shield local businesses from energy price shocks, the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) said.

PE2 welcomed three new DOE department circulars which reclassify designated establishments in the commercial, industrial and transport sectors, adjusting their thresholds and providing compliance guidelines.

*The Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance agrees with the policy move of the DOE to reclassify and adjust the consumption thresholds of designated establishments,” PE2 president Alexander Ablaza said.

“The new DOE department circulars support the overarching objective of making the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act more inclusive by capturing medium-sized private energy end-users under the policy mandate and obligations of designated establishments in the commercial, industrial and transport sectors,” he said.

Ablaza said the clean energy transition toward more efficient use of energy can be accelerated if the country captures a wider segment of energy end-use economy.

He said doing so will boost the Philippines’ chances to significantly contribute to the COP28 global consensus to double energy efficiency progress on the road to 2030.

“The DOE issuances will also help make more Filipino businesses more resilient to energy price shocks amid less predictable global energy supply market forces,” Ablaza said.

The circulars signed on Dec. 18, 2023 by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla will take effect on Jan. 11, 2024.

PE2 had also previously lauded the DOE’s multi-sectoral interventions to accelerate energy efficiency and conservation implementation across sectors.

The DOE has cited effective implementation of energy efficiency and conservation measures as an equally important aspect or pillar of the government’s energy program.

The agency has accelerated the implementation of the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP), which has reached a cumulative electricity savings of P286.7 million or an equivalent of 28,667.58 megawatt hours as of Dec. 28.

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

Among the energy efficiency and conservation measures implemented are the retrofitting of air-conditioning units and lighting systems to inverter and LED-type units, deployment of electric vehicles, and regular monitoring and documentation of energy consumptions.