Energy chief’s parting call

Notes on the beat

MANILA, Philippines —  “Are you better off now in terms of energy security and energy supply than three years ago?”

That’s how former energy secretary Raphael Lotilla summed up his performance when asked to reflect on his second stint as head of the Department of Energy (DOE).

Lotilla, who first served as energy chief under the Arroyo administration, made his return to the DOE in 2022, when President Marcos assumed office.

With Lotilla transitioning to a new role, he offered no grand declarations, leaving it to the public to judge the impact of his work on the very critical energy sector.

“I think it’s important to recall that since the President came into office, almost 3,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity were installed from July 2022 to February 2025,” he said.

Notably, he said, more than half of the installed capacity came from renewable energy (RE) sources, complemented by at least 500 MW of battery storage facilities.

“Right now, there are more than 13,000 MW of committed projects between 2025 and 2028. We hope to increase the number of those committed projects,” he said.

Committed projects are those that have secured firm financial closure and are already under construction or have been awarded through the government’s green energy auction rounds.

The DOE is counting on these projects to augment the country’s power supply amid growing demand.

“This is what I wish to emphasize: when the President came into office, all the predictions were that we’re going to suffer massive brownouts… That’s why I have been issuing apologies to those who bought generator sets and did not have to use them,” Lotilla said.

‘Take more accountability’

Even in his final press briefing as DOE chief last week, Lotilla maintained his trademark composure and no-nonsense approach, treating it as another day on the job.

True to form, the former energy secretary once again called on the private sector to step up and take the wheel.

“Since the private sector is the one that is running and directing our energy sector from upstream to downstream, then they should take more responsibility for both failures and advances in the sector,” Lotilla said.

“Whenever there is a problem with power supply, our business sector and our consumers should not only look to the DOE and the government for answers. They should hold the private sector stakeholders accountable for any failures and also give them credit for any progress,” he added.

While he acknowledged the support of the private sector, Lotilla emphasized that there are still many areas in need of improvement, especially in terms of generation and transmission.

“We are still looking for the right balance between government regulation and private sector initiative. And that is the continuing challenge,” he said.

Under Lotilla 2.0, the Philippines ranked second among the most attractive emerging markets for RE investments globally.

This marked an improvement from 2023’s fourth-place ranking and an impressive leap from 20th place in 2021.

The rise in the rankings was credited to the country’s effective implementation of energy policies, including feed-in tariffs, net metering, import and value-added tax incentives and priority grid access.

Nuclear advocate takes charge

As Lotilla takes the helm at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin has been appointed to lead the P3.8-trillion industry.

Garin previously supervised the Nuclear Energy Program–Inter-Agency Committee, which leads the formulation of the country’s nuclear roadmap and coordinates efforts to address infrastructure issues identified by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“With nuclear, it’s already been accelerated since this administration started. Even though they’ve been pushing for nuclear for decades already, this is the first time that we have a roadmap for nuclear power,” said Garin, who now serves as DOE officer-in-charge.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the country aims to have commercially operational power plants by 2032, with at least 1,200 MW entering the energy mix.

This ambitious nuclear push recently received a significant boost following the ratification of the Bicameral Committee Report on the proposed PhilATOM bill, or the Philippine Nuclear Energy Safety Act.

Once enacted into law, the measure will provide the legal and institutional framework for the development of nuclear infrastructure with the highest standards of safety and security.

And amid the leadership change at the DOE, Lotilla and Garin assured the public of only one thing — continuity.

“We will continue what we have done so far because we can still improve on it… We continue the policies and reforms that Secretary Lotilla has done,” Garin said.