PE2 launches inaugural Energy Efficiency Day
MAKATI CITY, 12 April 2021 – The Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) hosted its first Energy Efficiency Day event today, with a day-long webinar attracting up to 900 registrants from the Philippines and 31 other countries around the globe. This inaugural annual event marked the second anniversary of the enactment of Republic Act No. 11285, also known as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Act, and intended to raise awareness and compliance with the EE&C Act across all energy efficiency market stakeholders – whether energy end-users, energy service companies (ESCOs), energy efficiency technology and solutions providers, financiers, investors, development agencies, non-profit organizations, national government agencies, government corporations, and local government units – in a multi-sectoral collaboration toward the decarbonization of the economy through the distinct economic activity and energy asset class called energy efficiency.
The opening session featured keynote messages of Usec. Jesus Cristino P. Posadas, representing Sec. Alfonso G. Cusi of the Department of Energy, and House Speaker Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco and the welcome remarks of PE2 president Alexander Ablaza. The PE2 head said, “The EE&C Act is the one most significant policy tool to shift a market from a voluntary to mandatory market regime, to send an assuring market signal to investors, lenders and end-users, and to enable innovative procurement, financing and business models.”
Dr. Yongping Zhai, Chief of the Energy Sector Group of the Asian Development Bank, Dr. Ashok Sarkar, Senior Energy Specialist and Team Leader of The World Bank, and Ablaza presented global and regional perspectives of how energy efficiency markets can be scaled-up through post-pandemic economic recoveries.
PE2 member firms’ thought leaders presented how innovation in technology deployment and business delivery could contribute to energy efficiency market development in markets like the Philippines. Experts included Bienvenido Gonzales of Stellar Equipment and Machinery, Wesley Stewart of Shell Philippines, Jagannathan Srinivasan of Signify Philippines, Vincent Larribe of Engie Southeast Asia, and Antonio Boto Seco of Indra.
The next session had Melanie Slade of the International Energy Agency, Dr. Søren E. Lütken of the Global ESCO Network and Paul Kellett of UNEP’s United for Efficiency Programme take turns in showcasing global initiatives intended to accelerate energy efficiency markets.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian delivered the closing keynote message of the day-long webinar, recounting the Senate’s journey of nursing the energy efficiency bill to approval through the 17th Congress with the steady support of PE2.
In both opening and closing sessions, PE2 thanked its other Energy Efficiency Day 2021 sponsors, Daikin Airconditioning, Meralco, Thermal Solutions, and Upgrade Energy, as well as its event partners, the Department of Energy, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, the Management Association of the Philippines, the Infrastructure and Construction Focus Group, the Philippine Green Building Council, the United for Efficiency Programme, the Philippine Council of the Urban Land Institute, and its steady events partner for PhilEnergy, Informa Markets.
The discussions were steered by an all-woman PE2 moderator team, led by Energy Efficiency Day Master of Ceremonies, Ruth Yu-Owen, and moderators, Theresa Acedillo-Lapuz, Maria Concepcion Simundac, and Jean de Castro.
