Despite the moratorium on building new coal power plants, Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi still sees the importance of having coal in the country’s energy mix.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Cusi clarified that the government cannot afford to completely discontinue using coal for energy, adding that it would need new replacement sources.
Cusi was reacting to an environmental group’s comment, saying that that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) next step should be to retire the remaining coal plants in the country.
The DOE issued the moratorium last week to make way for other sources of power, including clean energy. It also recently approved an initial plan for coal explorations in Zamboanga Sibugay.
