The Philippines has signed a technical cooperation agreement with Japan to improve electric infrastructure and power generation efficiency in the country.
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) Deputy Director-General Kazuhisa Kobayashi signed the letter of Intent (LOI) for the deal at the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office in central Tokyo last Wednesday.
“The technical assistance is needed for Filipinos to get more value for their money, in terms of investment, energy development and utilization. In the end, it should address the overall drive towards energy efficiency,” Cusi said.
The technical cooperation involves the identification of problems and remedial measures based on Japanese experience and knowledge. It will also involve the proposal of institutional arrangements to propel the installation of facilities with reliable performance and provision of training for the Philippine government and independent power producers to improve operations and maintaining the quality of existing thermal power plants.
A series of coordination meetings between DOE and METI officials were done to come up with an action plan to resolve issues in the power sector.
The technical cooperation deal is in accordance with the DOE’s function to disseminate information resulting from energy research programs for the optimal development of various forms of energy production and utilization, as indicated in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).
DOE officials are in Tokyo this week as part of the country’s delegation to the fifth regular meeting of the Philippines-Japan High-Level Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation.
