Two leaders from the electric power sector bared the process of electricity production and distribution at the second KamalAEAn instalment titled “Power to the People” held at the Ricardo and Dr. Rosita Leong Hall Roof Deck on February 20.
PetroEnergy Resources Corporation (PERC) President Milagros Reyes discussed the basics of the non-renewable energy landscape in the Philippines and the constraints it faces.
For her part, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Commissioner Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc described the electricity market overview, as well as the energy sector before and after the enactment of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).
PERC is a publicly-listed firm that operates on upstream oil exploration and development, while ERC is an independent regulatory body performing quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative and administrative functions in the electric industry.
KamalAEAn 2, themed “Complexities of Philippine electricity production and distribution market,” was organized by the Ateneo Economics Association (AEA) in line with the impending power crisis in the country.
Department of Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla announced on July 21, 2014 that a power shortage will be caused by a projected rise in electricity demand during the summer of 2015.
The KamalAEAn talks are a biannual event of AEA aimed to raise the awareness of the general public, particularly students taking up economics courses, about various social economic issues in the Philippines.
Concerns
According to Milagros, the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country with an increased utilization of coal, since the country’s current primary source of energy is fossil fuel.
She said the Philippines will experience a 4.3% increase in power demand over the next few years, with at least 13,000 megawatts of electricity needed to offset it.
Milagros stressed the importance of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 or Republic Act (RA) No. 9513, which encourages the utilization and development of non-traditional energy sources in the country.
She further emphasized that renewable energy development is expensive and that the equipment needed to establish it is not available in the Philippines.
“The cost to develop one megawatt of renewable energy resource is roughly 1.5 million dollars to 2.8 million dollars per megawatt,” she said.
She said renewable energy which comes from natural resources, including wind, sun and volcanic areas, would not only be a more stable source of energy compared to fossil fuels, but it could also be just as cheap.
On the other hand, Yap-Taruc discussed how Epira has been beneficial to the electric power landscape.
The Epira or RA No. 9136 is designed to improve the efficiency of the energy industry and reduce its public debt levels by increasing competition and private sector investments.
Yap-Taruc explained that before the Epira was enacted, widespread electronic power outages in the country threatened the Philippine economy.
However, Epiras’s enactment in 2001 allowed for the restructuring of the electronic power industry, which saw “higher efficiency, greater innovation and end-user choice,” she said.
She added that the generation sector is now competitive and is presently on its way to achieve Epira’s end goal of allowing end users to choose their supplier of energy.
Moreover, AEA Vice President for Research and Development James Clifford Santos explained how Ateneans are likely to play a significant role in the energy industry.
“We’re going to be those next persons [to head the energy sectors], and I think as early as now, it’s important for us to be exposed in the nature of the job and how to really function well when in the position already,” he said.
