The Department of Energy (DOE) is appealing to local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas to adhere to the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP).
DOE Visayas Energy Resource Development and Utilization Division Chief Lourdes Arciaga said that the division has intensified its spot-checking operations across Western Visayas to evaluate compliance, aiming for full completion by next year.
“We are campaigning for them to be compliant,” Arciaga said.
One of GEMP’s objectives is the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation (EEC) methods and strategies to mitigate electricity and fuel usage and the use of energy generated from renewable sources.
By the end of last year, the department had evaluated 61 of the 139 LGUs in the region, uncovering gaps in energy management practices.
Only 42 LGUs had set up an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Office (EECO), while 61 had active GEMP accounts. Additionally, 10 LGUs had implemented energy-saving measures, 30 submitted electricity consumption reports, and just 15 reported fuel usage. This highlights the need for broader compliance and adoption of energy efficiency measures across the region.
Engineer Jeriel Militar from Central Philippine University shared that they carried out the knowledge empowerment initiative in Western Visayas with financial backing from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Energy Secure Philippines program.
“One of the deliverables of this project is to help local government units, to capacitate them, orient them on the GEMP requirements. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act was passed in 2019, but due to the pandemic, there was a slowdown in its implementation,” he said.
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