3.3 GW peak demand badly needs cooling efficiency
PE2 partners anew with ECCP for Energy Smart Forum 2024
MAKATI CITY, 28 August 2024 – The Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) partnered once again with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) for this year’s edition of the Energy Smart Forum held earlier today at the Dusit Thani Manila. With the theme, "Powering Progress: Accelerating Towards a Sustainable Energy Future,” key representatives from the Philippine and European governments, energy industry and other private sector stakeholders, academe, and media participated in this annual event led by the Chamber through its Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Committee.
During the energy efficiency (EE) session, PE2 president Alexander Ablaza declared that 3,340 MW of additional generation and transmission capacities were needed to provide supplemental cooling and refrigeration services to compensate for the rise of ambient temperatures and heat indices from the coolest month of January 2023 to the summer months of April-May of the same year.
Ablaza challenged the power-sector-dominant audience, “Why are we planning additional generation and transmission capacities ahead of peak demand management? We should aspire to flatten our daily and annual peak demand curves, especially through permanent peak shaving through cooling efficiency or load-shifting to off-peak hours through energy storage systems.”
He added, “Mid-day peak can be shaved permanently through cooling efficiency improvements by a massive market wash-out of low efficiency air conditioners, the upgrading of chiller plants through the ESCO business model or by building and operating district cooling systems. Efficiency upgrades for non-cooling systems include motors, drives, compressors, indoor lighting, controls, and other commercial and industrial loads. On the other hand, early evening peak can be shaved primarily through efficiency improvements in HVAC/cooling systems, lighting and through higher-efficiency household appliances and other residential loads.”
The PE2 president also said that thermal, kinetic and battery energy storage systems can effectively shift peak loads to off-peak hours. He recommended however that ERC review and widen the Time-of-Use (TOU) tariff differentials between those of peak and off-peak hours to incentivize private sector investments in load-shifting technologies.
Ablaza also joined the energy efficiency panel discussion with Dir. Patrick Aquino of the Department of Energy (DOE), Ommid Saberi of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and David Morgado of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
According to Ablaza, the next significant market barrier is the lack of capacities of smaller designated establishments to identify, prepare and implement energy efficiency projects within their premises, especially now that the minimum consumption thresholds for designated establishments were reduced to 50,001 kWh/year through a DOE department circular issued in December 2023. He explained that there is now a clearer need to capacitate the designated establishments in the commercial, industrial and transport sectors, and even the public sector agencies covered by the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP). Such capacity development will enable these private sector and GEMP end-users to conduct life-cycle cost-based procurement of energy efficiency technologies, solutions and services, or host entities for ESCO investments.
He stressed that innovation, not only in technology, but likewise in business delivery models, will hasten energy efficiency project decisions, which in turn will transform the market through behavioral shifts.
The discussants during the morning renewable energy (RE) panel discussion included DOE Usec. Rowena Cristina Guevara, Rune Damgaard, of Offshore Wind for the Philippines, Feng Liu of the World Bank, Atty. Pedro Maniego Jr., of the Energy Lawyers Association of the Philippines and the Institute of Corporate Directors and Benjamin Villacorte of SGV & Co.
Energy Regulatory Commission Dir. Sharon Ocampo-Montañer explained how the regulatory framework and policies are effectively driving energy sector development while Usec. Guevara gave insights on DOE’s policy priorities and initiatives intended to bolster renewable energy integration in the grid.
The forum was capped by an afternoon panel discussion on reshaping the energy landscape through innovation. Panelists included Redi Allan Remoroza of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, Tom Peebles of Solenergy Systems, Dr. Michael Angelo Pedrasa of University of the Philippines Diliman and Atty. Jose Layug Jr., of Developers of Renewable Energy for AdvanceMent, Inc. (DREAM) and of the ECCP Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Committee.
ECCP RE and EE Committee co-chair and PE2 Vice President for Internal Affairs Ruth Yu-Owen joined Atty. Layug as moderators and masters of ceremonies of Energy Smart Forum 2024.
ECCP’s annual pillar energy event provides a platform for productive and collaborative dialogue on steering the Philippine energy sector towards greater resilience, efficiency, and sustainability. This year's Forum dived deep into the latest developments in the energy arena, as well as explore advancements and transformative potential of emerging technologies within the energy sector.
