By Filane Mikee Cervantes | Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday lauded President Rodrigo Duterte’s signing into law of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act as a “major leap” forward in realizing efficient ways to use energy in the country that are attuned to acceptable international standards.
Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, said the signing of the landmark law is timely now that the country’s growing economy needs more power supply in the next few years.
“We are grateful to President Rodrigo Duterte for making this possible when he signed Republic Act No. 11285,” he said.
“With this law, the additional power supply will not come in the form of new power plants, but in savings from energy efficiency and conservation,” he added.
The senator noted that consumers would benefit from this new law, noting that a 10 percent increase in energy efficiency will give an average Meralco household a PHP140 reduction in their monthly electricity bill, which is equivalent to an additional 5 kg. of rice every month.
“The Energy Efficiency Act is also a win not only for the government, but also for ordinary consumers who stand to have more money in their pockets through energy efficiency and conservation measures,” he added.
Under the new law, the government recognizes the need to “institutionalize energy efficiency and conservation as a national way of life geared towards the efficient and judicious utilization of energy by formulating, developing, and implementing energy efficiency and conservation plans and programs.”
This way, it would “secure sufficiency and stability of energy supply in the country to cushion the impact of high prices of imported fuels to local markets and protect the environment in support of the economic and social development goals of the country.”
The law creates an Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC) to evaluate and approve government energy-efficient projects as defined under the new law and to provide strategic direction in the implementation of the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP).
The GEMP refers to the government-wide program to reduce the government’s monthly consumption of electricity and petroleum products through electricity efficiency and conservation, and efficiency and conservation in fuel use of government vehicles, among others.
