USAID Energy Secure PH meets PE2 on EE project activities
MANILA, Philippines, 23 July 2021 -- The project team of Energy Secure Philippines (ESP) met with the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) earlier today to help ESP finalize energy efficiency (EE) interventions under the five-year, USD 34 million project funded by the U.S. government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). PE2 was invited by ESP to this follow-up meeting to continue the EE-related discussions from the initial meeting on 11 February 2021 and to meet ESP’s sub-contracted team working on EE project activities.
ESP was represented in the meeting by the RTI International team composed of ESP Chief of Party Divina B. Chingcuanco, ESP Deputy Chief of Party Enrique Gallardo, Noel N. Verdote, and Claire Marie Yvonne C. Lee, and its local sub-contractor Full Advantage Philippines International Inc. (FAPI) represented by Dr. Bernardo D. Tadeo, Alberto Dalusung III and Bien Anatan.
PE2 was represented by its president Alexander Ablaza and its treasurer and ESCO sub-committee head, Raymond A. Marquez, and supported by Luigi G. Eusebio and Hazel D. Planco of the PE2 Secretariat.
Both ESP and PE2 discussed the market need and opportunities to nurse the development of EE projects in the private and public sectors through financial close. PE2 also highlighted the need to support the energy service company (ESCO) industry with capacity building resources such as subsidies for detailed energy audits, training and certification of ESCO professionals (e.g. CEMs, CEAs, CMVPs, etc.) and the development of industry-standard ESCO performance contract templates.
PE2 was pleased to learn of ESP's desire to support EE project implementation in the public sector, especially for local government units (LGUs). PE2 indentified the urgent need for a foreign-assisted project to identify, support, capacitate, nurse and enable government procurement of ESCO performance contracts, public-private partnership (PPP) transactions and joint-venture agreements by public entities such as national government agencies (NGAs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and LGUs.
Launched on 28 June 2021 by USAID with the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE), the flagship ESP project is aimed at supporting a more competitive, secure, and resilient Philippine energy sector and at promoting the country’s key energy sector priorities and support its climate mitigation goals.
Through ESP, the U.S. will work with Philippine government and private sector partners to improve the performance and efficiency of energy utilities, deploy renewable energy systems, enhance competition in the power sector, and address energy sector cybersecurity. The U.S. government will also mobilize more than USD 740 million in private sector investment and help develop at least 500 megawatts of clean energy generation capacity.
