DOE to pursue contingency measures for 2023 supply

The Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing contingency measures and activities to help secure energy supply during critical periods, especially in the summer months, as part of its key priorities for 2023. 

In a Philippine Star report, DOE said such measures will be pursued such as the preparation for the scheduled maintenance of the Malampaya gas field in February. 

The DOE aims to ensure that committed power projects, transmission line facilities and liquified natural gas (LNG) infrastructure, and other measures are completed and delivered on time.  

Furthermore, DOE cited the “critical transmission projects” like the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project, Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project, and the Hermosa-San Jose Transmission line project, which will support the entry of 711.54 megawatts (MW) of additional renewable energy capacity, and 1,120 MW of battery energy storage system in the Luzon Grid.

DOE will also closely monitor the commercial operations of LNG facilities that would complement the Malampaya source during the first half of the year.

As of December 2022, the Energy Department said that six applications for LNG import terminal projects were already approved.

Two LNG projects are expected to operate by the first half of 2023, which will supply the existing markets of the Malampaya gas field to help address the impending depletion of the country’s only domestic source of natural gas.

In other developments, DOE is looking to update the Philippine Energy Plan to align with the Philippine Development Plan. It is also looking to create the National Electrification Roadmap, the Energy Resiliency Roadmap and Action Plan, as well as the Energy Resilience Scorecard and Assessment. 

DOE is also aiming to create a Nuclear Power Roadmap with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The department said that the government will explore the possibility of developing small-scale modular nuclear power plants, by complying with the safety standards and regulations of IAEA. 

The DOE said it will update the Nuclear Power Roadmap to guide the Nuclear Energy Program Implementing Organization and the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee, which addresses the concerns in the nuclear energy program. 

The DOE is eyeing to conduct the second round of the Green Energy Auction Program to expedite the development and deployment of renewable energy.