DOST Sec. dela Peña leads PCIEERD Governing Council review of PE2 program proposal
TAGUIG CITY, 13 July 2021 – Secretary Fortunato T. dela Peña of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) led the multi-sectoral Governing Council of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) in the review of the Grants-in-Aid (GIA) Research and Development (R&D) program proposal of the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) through a virtual meeting held earlier today. Entitled “Transitioning MSMEs through Low-Carbon and Energy-Efficient Technologies,” the PE2-proposed PHP 73.9 million program is intended to jump-start a market shift of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) toward energy efficiency (EE) services and technologies through ESCO-led deployment. The PE2 program aims to mobilize PHP 60 million in DOST-PCIEERD grant funding to demonstrate the market deployment of EE technologies through two distinct MSME sectors, the MSME ESCOs and MSME end-users.
Aside from Sec. dela Peña, the other PCIEERD Governing Council members present during the proposal evaluation conference included DOST Usec. Rowena Cristina CL Guevara, PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit, BOI Executive Director Maria Corazon H. Dichoso, DOE Senior Science Research Specialist Lilibeth Morales, Engr. Ramon N. Santos, Remedios V. Baclig, DOST-PCIEERD Senior Science Research Specialist Patrick E. Montero and other representatives of various government agencies.
During the discussions, Sec. dela Peña said that while he appreciates the objectives of the PE2 proposal, he was firm in requiring the MSME end-users to repay the EE hardware procured with DOST-PCIEERD grant funding. He added that DOST-PCIEERD’s investment in hardware and services is actually taking away the credit risk away from the participating ESCOs. Sec. dela Peña opined that grant funding can cover the R&D-related hardware and even the labor costs related to the installation of the EE equipment. The DOST Secretary however made clear that the MSME end-users should repay the cost of EE hardware, possibly through interest-free plans, which could stretch over a few years after a year-long grace period.
DOST Usec. Guevara echoed the opinion regarding the need for MSME end-user repayment of the installed hardware.
PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico Paringit defended the PE2 program concept, which was reviewed and evaluated by the PCIEERD Management Team (PMT) and its Technical Panel (TP) last month. He explained the R&D role of ESCOs in deploying energy monitoring technologies to help PCIEERD gather energy load profiling data of targeted MSME end-users. Director Paringit also shed light on the key role of ESCOs in the MSME transition towards an energy efficient economy through proper energy audits and delivery of energy savings through ESCO-implemented solutions.
DOE Senior Science Research Specialist Lilibeth Morales also confirmed that DOE fully supports the PE2 program as energy efficiency and conservation (EE&C) and the full enforcement of the EE&C Act are key pillars of the Philippine Energy Plan. She also manifested that ESCOs play a vital role towards scaled-up implementation of EE projects across end-use sectors.
PE2 president Alexander Ablaza said that the Alliance and its participating ESCOs welcome the comments of Sec. dela Peña and the PCIEERD Governing Council.
Ablaza said that PE2 will work together with PCIEERD to incorporate the comments of the Governing Council in an improved proposal that ensures the MSME end-user repayment of hardware assets to be installed in their business premises.
Joining Ablaza in the meeting were representatives of participating PE2 member firms, Raymond A. Marquez, Managing Director of EconoServ Solutions International, Elmer F. Lapeña, President and COO, NextGen Innovations Phils, Jaime Regalado Iñigo, COO of Verne Energy Solutions and, Mikhael Fiorello C. Llado, Investment Advisor, Climargy, as well as Luigi Andrei G. Eusebio and Hazel D. Planco of the PE2 Secretariat.
PE2 seeks DOST-PCIEERD support the implementation of a portfolio of ESCO-led projects such as refrigeration efficiency improvement for an MSME food manufacturer, high-efficiency motor and VFD solutions for an MSME ice plant, and EE upgrades for an MSME logistics facility. By mobilizing PHP 60 million in DOST-PCIEERD grant funding and PHP 13.9 million in counterpart PE2, ESCO and end-user resources to enable a portfolio of at least 3 ESCO projects in the MSME sector, the program hopes to achieve 941 MWh/year in annual program energy savings and 643 tCO2e/yr in annual program GHG emission reduction. PE2 also aims to invest a portion of the grant funding to install facility-wide energy monitoring systems for future energy load-profiling research and studies in at least 3 MSME end-users.
