The Department of Energy (DOE) has directed the Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) to clarify the issues and concerns named by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief Gina Lopez last week.
In a letter to Semirara Chief Executive Officer Isidro Consunji dated August 12, the DOE ordered the company to explain in writing the issues named by the DENR mining audit team against the sector’s participants, which includes Semirara.
DOE said that SMPC has been given 48 hours to submit their report “because their strict compliance to their obligations stated on the Environmental Compliance Certificate is critical to the stability of the coal supply requirements of the country.”
“The DOE assures the public that it is committed to ensure quality, reliable, affordable and the secure supply of energy as well as socially and environmentally compatible energy sources and infrastructures,” it read.
SMPC accounts for over 90 percent of coal production in the Philippines, where energy supply comes from over 30 percent of coal.