Full effect of EE&C law felt in 5 years
(PE2 note: Malaya’s Jed Macapagal reports on PE2’s announcement during last week’s EE Day that the Philippines ranks 5th highest in the energy efficiency scorecard of Southeast Asian countries.)
The full impact of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Law in terms of savings and deferred electricity requirements will be felt in three to five years yet, according to the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2).
The law, enacted in 2019, grants qualified energy efficiency projects fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as tax and duty exemptions, recognitions, and technological assistance.
Alexander Ablaza, PE2 president, said in a webinar on Monday the EE&C Law has not been fully enforceable pending issuance of circulars and orders by the Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory Commission, and other related agencies.
But [Ablaza] remains [is] optimistic the EE&C law will not suffer the same experience of the Renewable Energy (RE) Act which took a decade before being fully implemented.
“Thanks to the momentum of people in EUMB (Energy Utilization Management Bureau), they have been churning out specific guidelines for ESCOs (energy service companies), certified energy managers, they issued the right policies for government. That’s happening much quicker than RE Act and I see that the government is helpful in this way,” Ablaza said.
He added in the World Bank’s 2020 scorecard on energy efficiency in Southeast Asia, the country got the fifth highest score with 57, trailing behind Malaysia’s 67, Thailand’s 68, Vietnam’s 73, and Singapore’s 83.
Ablaza said the Philippines’ EE scorecard is just above the global average of 48 and Southeast Asia’s 53.
PE2 had said if the Philippines invests $243 billion in energy efficiency through 2040, it would save as much as $726 billion and would have no need for 45,900 megawatts capacity from new power plants while reducing carbon emissions and tempering increases in power prices.
