The Energy Efficiency Day, pioneered during the PhilEnergy Expo, emphasizes the need for an urgent and proactive response to the implementation of energy efficiency in the country.
The Department of Energy (DOE) said that the goal of the government was to encourage mindfulness of energy consumption habits.
“We in the private and government sectors play this crucial role. Measures such as energy efficiency standards, incentives for energy safety investments, or funding for research and development of clean energy technologies can incentivize businesses as well as individuals to adopt more energy efficient practices,” said DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla in a statement.
In 2023, COP28’s call to double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency by 2030 was met with positive responses from 130 countries, including the Philippines.
In response to this, President Marcos Jr. signed Administrative Order (AO) No. 15, prompting government agencies to implement the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP), wherein the agencies are encouraged to reduce the consumption of electricity through efficient use and conservation of energy and fuel.
“Through pioneering initiatives such as the Government Energy Management Program, we endeavor to lead the government by example in its fight for the societal shifts towards responsible and efficient energy consumption. The government issued Administrative Order No. 15… The implementing guidelines have also been issued and it is estimated to result in up to nearly 2 billion pesos per year in savings for both electricity and fuel,” added Lotilla.
In his speech, the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) President Alexander Ablaza lauded the effort of the government to ensure the passage of Republic Act 11285 or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) Act, as well as the three department circulars issued in 2023.
These circulars zeroed in on smaller commercial, industrial, and transport-designated establishments with a significantly reduced consumption threshold of only 50,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) a year for fuel and electricity consumption.
At the end of his speech, Ablaza posed this challenge, saying, “After your litany of energy efficiency accomplishments, as a champion, you could be a policy champion, you could be an ESCO, You could be a technology provider, whatever accomplishment you have as a champion, what else can be done within your sphere of influence to scale up energy efficiency action, deployment, and investment?”