SMX Convention Center, Pasay City
30 September 2014
President Benigno S. Aquino III graced the Energy Smart Philippines 2014, a two-day conference and exhibit promoting the country’s initiatives on efficient and renewable energy towards sustainability and competitiveness.
In his speech, President Aquino reiterated the administration’s goal for the energy sector that focuses on a more reliable, clean and reasonably-priced power sources. In order to do this, the President said that balancing multiple priorities is needed so as not to forestall the country’s economic momentum amidst looming challenges. He mentioned the potential shortfall of 300 megawatts of energy by 2015 which, according to him, needs to be addressed immediately.
“Such a situation necessitates steps to ensure energy supply if a shortfall does arise, which is why we have asked Congress for a joint resolution authorizing the national government to contract additional generating capacity,” he said.
He added that such initiatives will assure that the economy will not suffer in the event of an energy shortage. With this, the President citied several government-initiated projects to counter power problems and to improve the energy sector such as the National Renewable Energy Program, the San Carlos Solar Energy Facility, and the installation target for solar power under the Feed-in-Tarrif System. Likewise, the Department of Energy (DOE) organized the Philippine Energy Efficiency Program that distributed 8.6 million compact fluorescent lamps to the public that reduced annual consumption of 306 gigawatt hours.
“Our administration is serious about minimizing our impact on our environment, while ensuring our continued development, which is why we lend our full support to conferences such as this one. I am hopeful that they will be productive, that they will reveal new ideas and breakthroughs that can help us surmount the global challenges of climate change,” President Aquino said.
Spearheaded by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), the event aims to cover a broad range of energy solutions for the commercial, industrial and public sectors for the benefit of the Filipino people.
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