Investors urged to pour money into RE projects, 6 Visayas power plants

Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella (sixth from left) and other Department of Energy officials tackle energy concerns and how the consumers can help in the Energy Investments Forum and Stakeholders Conference on Thursday at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu City.
CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO

INVEST in solar energy and other renewable energy (RE) projects, and build six more power plants in strategic locations in the Visayas.

Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella made this call to investors, encouraging them to invest in the power sector especially in the construction of the six power plants to help maintain the 1500 power demand of the Visayas.

The addition of new energy plants stretched in the Visayas islands like Bohol and Samar would be a better energy precaution to ensure reliable energy supply during calamities, said Fuentebella during the Energy Investments Forum and Stakeholders Conference at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel on Thursday.

“Some islands in the Visayas do not have their own energy source. They depend on the supply coming from other islands like Cebu and Leyte through the submarine cables. However, these sources are very unreliable especially when there are calamities,” he said.

Fuentebella said that the local government has the choice to maintain low expenditure on energy by continuing to tap the energy sources of other localities or to spend higher amounts in installing their own energy sources with the assurance of reliable power supply.

Aside from that, he also encouraged investors to look into possible renewable energy sources like solar energy to address the power challenges in the region.

Meanwhile, Jesus Tamang, Department of Energy’s energy utilization management director, encouraged consumers to use energy efficiently.

“We do not call for people to do away with using energy, but to make the utilization of energy efficient and to make the best out of the power,” said Tamang during the yesterday’s energy investments forum where the DOE’s “E-Power Mo Campaign” was launched in Cebu.

The DOE campaign emphasized on four objectives: Maximize local energy resources (E-Power); Ensure energy safety and efficiency (E-safety); secure a reliable and affordable source of energy (E-secure) and to empower the consumers through a wide range of energy source options (E-diskarte).

“Through ‘E-Power Mo,’ we can provide the people from the Visayas vital information on recent developments in the energy sector, including plans, policies and programs,” said Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi in his message to the consumers.

Cusi added that their current projection of the country’s energy demand shows a deficiency of about 44000 megawatts, which they need to fill in by the end of 2020.

This deficiency, according to Cusi, calls for the adoption of more energy sources, especially renewable energy.