DOE seeks industry inputs on energy plan update

The Department of Energy (DOE) is engaging the relevant industry stakeholders so they can contribute insights and inputs in the updating of the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2030-2050.

The energy department advised that the Luzon leg of its information, education and communication (IEC) campaign on the PEP updating is slated August 30 this year, 8:30am at F1 Hotel at the Fort Bonifacio, Global City.

“This activity will provide the DOE with an opportunity to present the government’s efforts to our stakeholders and gain valuable input on regional issues and challenges in energy development,” the DOE noted.

It added that the revised PEP will cover the periods from 2023 to 2050. It will be anchored on the Marcos administration’s thrust “to secure a reliable and resilient energy supply, transition to clean, sustainable, and climate-centered energy resources, as well as ensure access to energy.”

The current energy plan of the country was reckoned from year 2020 until 2040, and that was previously designed under the "technology agnostic preference" of the past Duterte administration.

Under the Marcos regime, it is very apparent that the leaning will be mainly toward renewables and other green energy installations, not just in the power industry, but through the various segments of the energy sector.

The current leadership at the DOE has also been exploring various innovative technologies that will become part of the country’s energy future – including nuclear, commercial scale rollout of energy storage systems that would go beyond lithium-ion’s dominance, hydrogen, massive deployment of electric vehicles as well as institutionalization of smart grids that will ensure non-curtailment of RE installations.

“The PEP update contains the country’s major plans and programs, sectoral roadmaps, and assessment of major energy trends and developments to intensify energy development within the planning horizon,” the agency emphasized.

Core focus on the updating of the PEP is the push for 50 percent share of renewable energy (RE) in the country’s energy mix by year 2040, while further technological innovations will be accelerated further into 2050.

Within the reign of the current administration, the estimated power capacity addition until 2028 will be 8,000 megawatts; and roughly 43-percent of that is targeted to be coming from renewables.

The PEP, in particular, serves as a guide to investors because this fleshes out the energy development landscape that the government would be decreeing – including its technology preferences, the geographical buildout to be prioritized; corresponding economic expansion as well as the energy supply-demand growth that sponsor-firms will have to consider in their project planning.

The country’s energy blueprint similarly highlights key enabling policies, regulations as well as laws that shall underpin capital flow and project developments in the sector.