Sa gitna ng matinding init ng panahon, may mga nakaambang brownout pa sa ilang lugar sa bansa dahil sa manipis na supply ng kuryente.
Ayon sa Department of Energy o DOE, naitala ang 14,016 MW na peak demand ng kuryente. Mas mataas sa projected peak demand sa buong taon na 13,971 MW. Dahil daw ito sa patuloy na pagtaas ng pagkonsumo ng kuryente ngayong tag-init.
Ang iba pang dahilan kung bakit hindi sapat ang supply ng kuryente at ilang tips para makatipid, mula kay DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
Ayon sa Department of Energy o DOE, naitala ang 14,016 MW na peak demand ng kuryente. Mas mataas sa projected peak demand sa buong taon na 13,971 MW. Dahil daw ito sa patuloy na pagtaas ng pagkonsumo ng kuryente ngayong tag-init.
Ang iba pang dahilan kung bakit hindi sapat ang supply ng kuryente at ilang tips para makatipid, mula kay DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
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NewsTranscript
00:00:00Good day to all of you.
00:00:07Are you suffering from a lack of water, electricity, high cost of living?
00:00:14Let's first talk about the problem with electricity or a possible power outage or blackout in the middle of a very hot weather.
00:00:25Let's watch Assistant Secretary Mario Castillo-Marasigan of the Department of Energy.
00:00:31Good day, Asec Mario.
00:00:34Good morning to all of us, especially to our listeners.
00:00:39Okay. Asec Mario, you're not asking him, he's a consistent scholar from elementary school until he graduated and became a geologist.
00:00:48Outstanding, 40 years in public service since he graduated and worked in the government.
00:00:56And now he has a big responsibility.
00:01:00He has been supervising the EPIRA, the Household Electrification Project, and now he's the Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy.
00:01:11Good day, Asec Mario.
00:01:13What is your explanation of red and yellow? What does that mean? Yellow alert, red alert?
00:01:19First of all, thank you for the opportunity you gave us to explain the production of energy.
00:01:28What our red alerts mean is that this is the first news for us to prepare.
00:01:35What yellow alert means is that we have enough electricity and our reserves are decreasing or decreasing.
00:01:46If the biggest plant in our system has an outage, our difference will not be enough.
00:01:57If that happens, we will go to the so-called red alert.
00:02:05What our red alert means is that we have enough but no reserves to control the use of electricity.
00:02:16When it comes to red alert, there's a prediction that we can conduct manual low-dropping,
00:02:25which means that we will designate areas where there will be rotating brownouts.
00:02:34But we will continue to serve electricity. We will just choose where we will temporarily cut our service.
00:02:45Okay. Now, please explain because there are power plants where the situation is called outage or offline.
00:02:56Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. Please explain. In Luzon, there are four that are outage and 12 that are offline.
00:03:05Is that correct? In Visayas, your data is one on outage status and there are five offline.
00:03:13In Mindanao, there are also five outage. What is the total? I think it's around 36 dozen.
00:03:20You're right. Our power plants are in that range.
00:03:25Even if they are not stopped from producing electricity, their capacity to supply electricity is low.
00:03:36So in the first areas that I mentioned, these plants are in an emergency.
00:03:42If they need to stop their operation to conduct their repairs and maintenance.
00:03:49We also have plants that have been outage for a long time. They have been stopped from operating for a long time.
00:03:57They conducted what is called preventive maintenance.
00:04:01But what happened is they discovered a bigger problem in their facilities.
00:04:07That's why they need an extension to complete their maintenance program.
00:04:14In the areas that are outage from producing electricity, most of them are our hydropower facilities.
00:04:24Because of the shortage of water that is stored in their dams,
00:04:30this is also an effect of El Niño where the rainfall rate in different parts of the Philippines is decreasing.
00:04:39The generation capability of these plants needs to be reduced.
00:04:45If we don't save water and use it for the production of electricity,
00:04:51we might lose our irrigation and the water we use on a daily basis.
00:04:59So that's our situation. There are different reasons, but when we put them together,
00:05:05this is the reason why there are yellow and red alerts.
00:05:11So Asec, in short, is our situation tragic, miserable or hopeless?
00:05:17It's not hopeless. Actually, we have a study where our consideration is high.
00:05:26In the past few weeks, we noticed that our consumption of electricity is increasing.
00:05:32We took that into account in the events of the past few weeks and this past week.
00:05:38What we noticed is that during the time of El Niño, when there was a shortage of rain, it started to get hot.
00:05:46When the El Niño came out, but when the heat came in, we saw that the temperature of our surroundings increased.
00:05:57If we follow the so-called heat index, how we feel the heat of the time, it's too high.
00:06:08When we correlate that to the events, we saw that at the same time of the increase of temperature and heat index,
00:06:19our consumption also increased.
00:06:21That's why our projected peak demand, the so-called projected peak demand,
00:06:32that we expect to reach in the middle or the last part of May, we experienced it in the past few days.
00:06:42We didn't just reach it, we surpassed it.
00:06:47Our projected peak demand for the whole year is 13,917 megawatts.
00:06:54But after 2 p.m. on April 24, our peak demand reached 14,016 megawatts.
00:07:08Our added demand is almost 100 megawatts based on our projection.
00:07:15If there is a shortage of electricity in the houses, tell us about the daloy.
00:07:21There are three areas, generation, transmission, and distribution.
00:07:26Is this not planned because if we follow it, where is the root of the problem?
00:07:32Is there a problem with generation, transmission, or distribution?
00:07:37Who is at fault?
00:07:39Because there are different points in these activities.
00:07:43Please explain the daloy and the situation now.
00:07:46First of all, our electricity comes from our generation facilities, our generators.
00:07:53Our generation, our capacity, will be delivered to the transmission facilities.
00:08:01There's a high voltage and high capacity.
00:08:04This is managed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
00:08:10They are the ones who balance the needs of our consumers and how much or how big should be the electricity produced by our generators.
00:08:22While our electricity flows to the transmission facilities,
00:08:27it is distributed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to different distribution facilities and distribution utilities.
00:08:37Like Miralco and our electric cooperatives.
00:08:41When our distribution utilities receive the electricity, they are the ones who distribute it to each consumer.
00:08:50This is the electricity that comes from our distribution facilities to our houses.
00:08:58But how will we know the connection of all of that?
00:09:02The generator needs to supply the needs of a house.
00:09:07If we need, for example, 10 kilowatts,
00:09:13our distribution utilities will provide all 10 kilowatts for the needs of all houses and establishments to their control system.
00:09:26This is the signal that will be given to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to find a plant that can provide.
00:09:34Because we cannot control the behavior of the use of electricity,
00:09:42no one knows when one of our consumers will die or when the air-conditioning system of our lights will come to life.
00:09:50It fluctuates every hour and every minute.
00:09:54So our system operator, the NGCP, needs to have a reserve that will regulate the immediate needs.
00:10:03Because not all plants can adjust the needs of our consumers.
00:10:12So this is connected. There are generation facilities that supply our needs and there are generation facilities that provide a reserve.
00:10:25Because the needs should be supplied.
00:10:29But compared to now, one of the signs of increasing consumption is the increase in temperature.
00:10:40So that adds stress to the needs of our plants.
00:10:45Aside from that, the high temperature is also affecting our plants and lines of electricity.
00:10:54Because of that complication, it reached a point where the plant is stressed,
00:11:03there are forced outages or unplanned plant shutdowns.
00:11:09That's also what's happening to our lines of electricity, especially distribution facilities.
00:11:14If we don't clean it right away, there's a possibility that it will die.
00:11:23There will be a tripping.
00:11:25That's also a sign of outages.
00:11:27So it's always being balanced.
00:11:29Because of the stress that our system is experiencing, that's the result of why our needs are not balanced in terms of production or generation.
00:11:46So this is what gives an alert where our system operator or NGCP is saying, yellow alert, get ready.
00:11:57Or red alert, we need contingencies. That's what's happening.
00:12:04As far as we can remember, last year, there was an advisory from the NEDA to prepare for this time of the year.
00:12:14So suma total, these different parties in charge, generation, transmission, and distribution,
00:12:21did they not anticipate the increased peak load that is expected?
00:12:26Because suma total, it's like the solution is they over-contracted or added an order or a reserve that is needed.
00:12:37Didn't there be a lack of preparation?
00:12:42We released our laws and advisories early.
00:12:47Before we reached out to the various government agencies, we already submitted our laws.
00:12:58After we confirmed what is the possible situation in El Nino, we already informed all of our stakeholders.
00:13:08In fact, we have a task force on energy resiliency.
00:13:13This task force convened all of our stakeholders.
00:13:21We gave them advice on what to do.
00:13:26There are mitigating measures, how to avoid, and there are contingencies.
00:13:35What should be done if there's an incident. We laid out all of that.
00:13:40For example, last week, there was a landslide, there was an outage.
00:13:50We immediately issued a red alert.
00:13:53But in this particular franchise area of Miralco, there was no problem.
00:14:02There was no experience in the franchise area of Miralco of what we call rotating brownouts or what we call manual load dropping.
00:14:10Why? Because our stakeholders are ready.
00:14:14We issued our contingency measures.
00:14:19What are our contingency measures?
00:14:21One of them is what we call interruptible load program,
00:14:25where we encourage our big consumers to work alone.
00:14:33We tell them, can you reduce the load that you get from the grid?
00:14:39It's either you stop your production if it's not needed, or whatever your activities are,
00:14:47or you reduce the electricity and use your own generation facilities, the standby power.
00:14:55Because of this, we were able to avoid a brownout.
00:14:59Because our participants are ready, there was no brownout.
00:15:04Our contingency was ready.
00:15:07What happened is that there were outages in various parts of the country.
00:15:15What was the reason? Because we issued a red alert on Tuesday, the early beginning of...
00:15:21The reason was that there was a common line that was affected.
00:15:26If we need to shut down the plant, we will reduce the load before we return the electricity service.
00:15:35So that's a different situation.
00:15:37But we were able to return it to the system easily because our stakeholders are ready.
00:15:45So our problem with electricity was not delayed.
00:15:49All right. So these mitigating measures and contingencies are like short-term solutions.
00:15:57If there is an emergency or problematic situation, your contingency and mitigating measures will be implemented.
00:16:05There were a lot of plans recently, for example, the shift of working hours to private and public agencies.
00:16:16That's the solution.
00:16:18If it can be implemented earlier to modify the peak load or peak activities.
00:16:27What other short-term solutions are you thinking of?
00:16:31Because it seems like you don't want to prevent the brownout.
00:16:36What if there's a sudden brownout or the situation worsens?
00:16:39Actually, that's part of our mitigating measures.
00:16:43The shift of working hours, the use of alternative work schemes, like in our government.
00:16:51This Friday, most of our offices are empty.
00:16:57They are working from home.
00:16:59Those who are left to manage each office are only in one place.
00:17:05For one place, we are providing electricity service.
00:17:09There is a huge reduction in our consumption of electricity because of this scheme.
00:17:14But our mid-term and long-term solution is to add more plants for electricity.
00:17:21This is according to our programs.
00:17:28As of this year, 2024, there are plants that are lacking more than 4,000 megawatts that will be an additional capacity in our system,
00:17:40particularly in Luzon, where more than half are renewable energy.
00:17:47Now, most of them are in the status of testing and commissioning stage.
00:17:54It means that they are being tested as to how they will go to the so-called commercial operation.
00:18:00Others are already being completed.
00:18:03This is the additional supply.
00:18:05In fact, we are coordinating with various agencies as to how we can speed up the completion of these projects.
00:18:17If they can enter earlier, the lack or insufficient electricity because we have plants that are outaged, they will be the ones to fill it up for now.
00:18:30Can you explain that generation, when plants are established, private sector and under the Energy Regulatory Commission to focus on responsibility.
00:18:44What is the ERC news regarding these renewable energy projects?
00:18:51Because it seems that our energy mix is wholly or largely dependent on coal.
00:18:57Where will our power plant energy generation sources come from?
00:19:03Can you explain the situation?
00:19:05Is it enough for those who are interested to invest in the energy sector?
00:19:10Are there not enough incentives or tax breaks?
00:19:13What does the ERC say about our target of increasing capacity over the next five to ten years?
00:19:22This is what the midterm and long-term solutions are saying.
00:19:25Thank you. Actually, our government and energy regulation will help to complete our targets on producing electricity,
00:19:38our development projects, and not just the power plant.
00:19:44This includes the construction of additional transmission facilities.
00:19:48It's not possible to have a project that cannot be connected to the line.
00:19:53This is being helped by the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy.
00:19:58The target of the Department of Energy in our Philippine Energy Plan is to have a 35 percent contribution of renewable energy by 2030
00:20:12and it will reach 50 percent by 2040.
00:20:15This includes the assimilation of different technologies.
00:20:21Since we have the policy direction now, we should have what we call environment-friendly energy-related projects,
00:20:32we should also have transition programs where we include more clean electricity production.
00:20:42We are not allowing additional new plants that will come from conventional, particularly coal.
00:20:51This is what we call coal moratorium.
00:20:53This is why our projects are now mixed and more than 50 percent are renewable energy projects.
00:21:02In fact, we are now out in the field.
00:21:05What we are studying now is the development of our projects that are in the water,
00:21:11what we call floating solar and offshore wind resource development.
00:21:18This is our direction.
00:21:20We also have enough policies that were helped by the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission.
00:21:28This is what Secretary Lotilla was talking about earlier, that there are plans.
00:21:34However, it will take a long time.
00:21:36We are just waiting because for people, it's okay if we give the government a plan,
00:21:43it will take a long time for the promises of these plans to be fulfilled.
00:21:48But these plans have not been thought of before.
00:21:51It looks like during President Ramos' time, we had the following brownouts.
00:21:56During President Cory's time, there were various plans in the energy sector.
00:22:00Why does it look like we are back to square one in planning and we have been waiting for a long time?
00:22:08Our situation is not like that.
00:22:11In fact, many want to have investments here in the Philippines for energy projects.
00:22:19That's why we are seeing many challenges.
00:22:24If you remember, after we passed the so-called Electric Power Industry Reform Act,
00:22:32in 2008, we passed the Biofuels and Renewable Energy Act.
00:22:39We need laws that will help and give incentives to speed up our project development.
00:22:50While we are implementing the laws, we are still seeing many plans.
00:22:59For example, when our administration came in, we immediately made new policies.
00:23:06For example, we allowed 100 percent investment from other countries.
00:23:13We are not limiting.
00:23:15We asked for the appropriate policy direction.
00:23:20We asked the Department of Justice on how a foreign corporation can invest directly in renewable energy projects.
00:23:30That's one.
00:23:31Second, we are implementing the so-called energy virtual one-stop system.
00:23:40Because our permits and clearances are one of the challenges of our developers.
00:23:47There are many and it takes a long time.
00:23:49Energy virtual one-stop system or EVOS is an online platform where all our applications go through this platform.
00:24:01So our applicants or developers don't have to physically go to the offices.
00:24:08They can use it online and it's already a considered file.
00:24:11Not only that, there are incentives put there.
00:24:15For example, the Department of Energy is following our principles on how to make our situation environment-friendly.
00:24:28What's happening there is, there are incentives that if it's not executed on time, the project is considered approved.
00:24:38That's a challenge for us.
00:24:41On Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, when an application is filed, it should be executed immediately.
00:24:49Because a project will be deemed approved if we don't process it on time.
00:24:57So for now, we are including other agencies in EVOS so that all clearances, all permits that our project developers need,
00:25:12when EVOS is used, there are incentives that will be deemed approved if it's not executed on time.
00:25:18How many days is the waiting period or action period?
00:25:21It depends on the type of permit or clearance that is required.
00:25:26It ranges from three days to 15 days.
00:25:32There is also the highly technical one, which is a bit long, it can reach up to 60 or 70 days.
00:25:39But all of those are in accordance with the regulations that we made and the policies that we are enforcing in the law.
00:25:48Okay. So it's easy to say, because there's a story in the House of Representatives, the economic chacha.
00:25:55Relax the foreign ownership rule that only up to 40%, 60% Filipino, including the utilities.
00:26:04Don't you need the economic chacha because you already have executive orders,
00:26:08you already have plans and processes that you are speeding through EVOS.
00:26:13What's the situation for the Department of Energy there? Do you still need the chacha?
00:26:18We are united in enforcing the laws that will speed up our investment here.
00:26:26If it's in the law, it's firm. It's better and well-defined.
00:26:33We know that other laws can be changed immediately, but if it's in the law,
00:26:41it will be permanent until a new law is passed to change it.
00:26:48So the policies that we are enforcing now will be more firm.
00:26:56Okay. So in short, it's okay if the economic sector relaxes the foreign control or foreign ownership rule in sectors like media,
00:27:07advertising, utilities.
00:27:10You're right.
00:27:13But what some people say, when it comes to national security,
00:27:17the control of utilities, power, water, and of course communication and infrastructure,
00:27:25will be important for a country to maintain its power or control in these sectors.
00:27:32Aren't you worried that opening up the energy power sector could actually be diminishing our national security?
00:27:42That's not what we're looking at.
00:27:45Even if it's 100 percent or total foreign corporation, that's for investment.
00:27:52So in our rules and regulations, we will put how we can preserve the integrity and security of our country.
00:28:02Of course, we will not allow a foreign corporation to do whatever it wants.
00:28:08What they will do is to follow the rules and regulations that are in our situation in the Philippines.
00:28:17If we can avoid the so-called security problems.
00:28:23All right. That became an issue recently because of the NGCP, the National Grid Corporation.
00:28:29It seems that there is a lot of equity and participation of China or Chinese conglomerates.
00:28:35The Senate said that their goal should not be a situation of transmission.
00:28:41But can we be sabotaged by the NGCP if that is their management and ownership structure?
00:28:53As far as I know and understand in that situation, the security issues are handled not by the Ministry of Energy
00:29:02or the National Security Council, but by the various government agencies.
00:29:08But if we look at the hearings that were held regarding the NGCP,
00:29:13this is according to the delayed transmission projects.
00:29:18That's what we're saying. Why is it delayed?
00:29:21Because it's faster to build a plant than to establish power lines.
00:29:29It requires a long and many right-of-ways so that we can continue to have a kilometer-kilometer transmission facility.
00:29:38Meanwhile, a power plant, if it's 10 hectares, will only require 10 hectares.
00:29:43So there are many plans to make it faster.
00:29:47That's what we saw. Why are our transmission projects delayed?
00:29:52That's our concern and we are asking and urging our Congress on how we can speed up the implementation of our transmission projects.
00:30:11Can you explain to us if there is a correlation with the West Philippine Sea, particularly the natural gas exploration?
00:30:20They say that the reserves or the capacity of Malampaya will be depleted.
00:30:26That's why we need exploration in that area that is very close to natural gas.
00:30:32Does this have an effect on your energy reserve targets if we lose control of the natural gas area or reserves in the West Philippine Sea?
00:30:44Let's separate our topic. Let's start with Malampaya.
00:30:50Our Malampaya, our original deposit and the extraction of natural gas has been delayed for 25 years.
00:31:02That's why we renewed or gave a new franchise to the investors who will continue our Malampaya gas project.
00:31:11With this, because the production of our natural gas in Malampaya is declining,
00:31:17we need additional exploration activities to confirm that our Malampaya natural gas field still has the capacity to produce natural gas.
00:31:33In other parts of the West Philippine Sea, we said that there is a conflict.
00:31:40According to our party, what our government is doing is continuing the exploration activities.
00:31:48We are not allowing ourselves to be stopped while of course, we are considering the safety and security of these exploration activities.
00:32:00We know that energy is not the only thing involved when it comes to territorial issues.
00:32:08We are only looking for our resources, especially because it's indigenous.
00:32:18All right. Okay.
00:32:19But for now, are you in agreement because there is a West Philippine task force?
00:32:24And the proposal is we do it on our own, ourselves, Philippines, or joint exploration with China?
00:32:33Is there a study on what would be the better fit for if ever there is a dispute over territorial domain?
00:32:44Because it seems like there is a need to clarify and add our reserve and explore because it's a long time from exploration to generation.
00:32:59You're right. The energy will be allocated to the group that will settle the West Philippine Sea.
00:33:09But we should remember that our potential deposits of natural resources are not only in the Philippine Sea.
00:33:17The government is studying the entire Philippines and we are providing service contracts not only in the West Philippine Sea,
00:33:26but also in the entire country where we have seen signals that energy resources can be obtained.
00:33:38So we are not confined to one area. We are looking for all potentials.
00:33:44Where are the potentials of natural resources?
00:33:48There are a lot. There are a lot in Visayas, Mindanao, and we also have locations that are identified in Northern Luzon.
00:33:58There are a lot. Aside from this, we are not only looking for oil and gas.
00:34:05We are also looking for what we call geothermal.
00:34:08So that we can produce geothermal. As you know, we are number two in the world in generating geothermal energy.
00:34:19We just recently surpassed Indonesia.
00:34:24If we can recover, if we can see the addition of geothermal resources, we will be number two again.
00:34:32What is the difference between hydropower and geothermal?
00:34:35Hydropower is the water flows that we use.
00:34:42Whereas what we call runoff river, it is directly connected to the flow of river.
00:34:48We tap the hydropower facilities to produce electricity.
00:34:53We also have what we call impounding or storage type, where there is a big dam.
00:35:02The water is collected first before it produces electricity.
00:35:05While geothermal, these are the steams that occur because the area has influence or is close to the location of the volcano.
00:35:22The heat that is generated in the volcano affects the environment.
00:35:28If there is water that is impacted in our resources, then the water becomes steam.
00:35:35That geothermal steam is what we harness and use to produce electricity.
00:35:42We have already developed a lot of that.
00:35:45We have it in Bicol, Sorsogon and Tiwi.
00:35:48We have it in Laguna, Santo Tomas and Ibarrara Complex.
00:35:55We also have it in Visayas, Leyte and Negros.
00:35:59All right.
00:36:00Now the oil-fueled or oil-powered plants and solar, what is the difference?
00:36:08Just to clarify, solar is like solar panel set up, while oil is like a power plant generated by oil.
00:36:18We have a small mix.
00:36:20Yes. Our conventional, what we call, are the power plants that use fuel.
00:36:27The fuel that is used here, most of it in the Philippines, is what we call carbon or coal.
00:36:35Correct.
00:36:35So that's it. The coal is being burned.
00:36:37While the coal is being burned, we are using a medium, limited to water, where the water is heated and becomes steam.
00:36:47Correct.
00:36:48The steam that is generated, it's like cooking.
00:36:52We boil the water and when the water is boiled, it becomes steam.
00:36:56The steam is passed through the turbine and the turbine is connected to the generator, that's why there's electricity.
00:37:08When it comes to oil, the process is the same.
00:37:12The only difference is that the coal is solid, while the oil is liquid.
00:37:17The product that we use there is diesel or bunker.
00:37:24Those are the fuels that we use.
00:37:26When it comes to renewable energy, especially solar and wind, we don't use fuel.
00:37:35The sunlight is used to convert through panels to produce electricity.
00:37:50When it comes to wind, the force of the wind is what rotates our wind towers.
00:38:02There's a pack that rotates.
00:38:06When it rotates, it's connected to the generator.
00:38:09When the generator rotates, it produces electricity.
00:38:13So the traditional sources, fuel-based, that's what they call marume, energy.
00:38:18But there are a lot of stand-by applications for coal-fired plants. What is it?
00:38:24It's like this.
00:38:26Anything that we burn, in this time, we consider it as marume because it emits.
00:38:35Dirty as in pollution and emission because of CO2, the climate change concept.
00:38:43So all the fuel that we burn has an effect on our environment.
00:38:48Even if we use clean technology, at the end of the day, we're still burning.
00:38:54So because we're burning fuel, we call it marume in some context.
00:39:01Not because technology and fuel are marume, but if we compare it to other technologies that don't burn.
00:39:11Also because there are no harmful emissions like CO2 or CO.
00:39:18That's our difference.
00:39:21Of course, if you don't burn fuel, your technology is clean.
00:39:26You said there are a lot of applications.
00:39:32When it comes to coal plants, we already issued moratoriums.
00:39:39Whatever was approved before our moratorium was issued, that's the only thing we allow.
00:39:46But the new ones, we don't allow anymore.
00:39:51All right. Now on nuclear power, what is the system of the Department of Energy?
00:39:57Do you really have a plan? Is there a possibility to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant?
00:40:04What is your estimate of the timetable and financial obligation?
00:40:11That's included in our estimate of the demand.
00:40:18Again, like what I explained earlier, that's the demand that we're starting with.
00:40:23From the demand, we need to balance it with the supply of electricity.
00:40:29Because our primary target is to have a 35 percent contribution of renewable energy by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040,
00:40:42we will think about where the shortcomings will come from.
00:40:47Okay. Okay.
00:40:48So it's included in the options to fulfill our total demand in those target years, the nuclear.
00:40:58Where we expect that if we can follow all the guidelines of the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Authority,
00:41:12if we can follow all the rules and regulations,
00:41:17it's included in our consideration to have a nuclear power plant by 2032.
00:41:23That's still a long time. So the President will be the one to make the decision on that.
00:41:29Yes. Because we need to follow the international rules and regulations.
00:41:36We cannot be the only Philippines to build a nuclear power facility.
00:41:42First of all, the technology will come from other countries and the experience will also come from other countries.
00:41:51We need to develop our capability and have sufficient technology capacity for us to run our own plants.
00:42:02All right. Now, let's talk about the supply side.
00:42:07What are your projects and targets to upload or upscale our reserve or supply?
00:42:17On the demand side, you mentioned the mitigating measures.
00:42:21But on the level of households or customers in residential and private sectors,
00:42:29what can you say that they should do to help alleviate the problem of the red and yellow alert that brownouts may occur eventually?
00:42:41We are calling on our consumers to be united on the concept of saving electricity.
00:42:49Actually, it's not just electricity, it's energy. But for now, what we're talking about is electricity.
00:42:56There are many ways to save electricity. We are not prohibiting the use of electricity.
00:43:03We are not prohibiting the use of air conditioning or any cooling appliances.
00:43:09However, there are ways to save the use of these.
00:43:14For example, what we see when we use air conditioning is that our setting is 18 degrees, the coldest.
00:43:22But while our surroundings are at 18 degrees, we're wearing jackets, but it's hot outside.
00:43:29So now, if we go inside at 18 degrees and go outside at 32 degrees, 33 degrees, it may affect our health.
00:43:40Meanwhile, if we maintain our surroundings at 25 degrees inside the house or inside the office, we don't need an 18-degree setting.
00:43:53We can maintain it at 25. If we have a lot of people in a room, 24 or 23 degrees is enough to maintain it at 25 degrees.
00:44:05Where our air conditioning unit will not be a gas in use.
00:44:11If it's 18 degrees, it will be hot and the compressor will run.
00:44:15Meanwhile, if it's 23 or 25 degrees, the compressor will not run.
00:44:21So that's how it is. It can save a lot.
00:44:23For example, when we use an electric fan, we're used to it.
00:44:29Even if we're alone, it's all on the number three.
00:44:33But because we don't want to be exposed to strong winds, what we do is we swing it so that the wind hits us.
00:44:41Why don't we point it at us or band it on the wall, but we set it to one because we're using it alone.
00:44:53It's the same when we drink cold water. For example, we can make our pitcher inside the refrigerator.
00:45:02Correct.
00:45:03We will drink, the refrigerator will open, it will go inside the glass, we will drink and the pitcher will return.
00:45:08We will open and close the refrigerator several times. What if we make it with ice?
00:45:16Let's put the pitcher in water. Let's put the ice in the water. Let's put it on the table.
00:45:22Every time we need water, there's a cold water ready. But we don't open our refrigerator.
00:45:30One more thing, we should be disciplined in using electricity.
00:45:36We know that we will be using electricity all day.
00:45:40The weather is hot and it's hot to use electricity.
00:45:43Why don't we try to reduce the demand of electricity, the off-peak hours.
00:45:51Let's plant there. It's just a small sacrifice.
00:45:54We can do that early, let's say around 5, 6, 7 p.m., when the demand of electricity is not yet high.
00:46:04The environment is still hot, but it's fresh while we're planting.
00:46:09So it's like a moderation and lifestyle shift that you're proposing to our customers.
00:46:17That's right.
00:46:18Your practical tips are okay, 25 degrees, number one in the electric fan, don't open and close the refrigerator.
00:46:27Those are energy-efficient devices.
00:46:30You said it's better to have LED lights or refrigerators that are more efficient but more expensive.
00:46:42Are there no incentives for these products that people will buy?
00:46:48It's a bit expensive.
00:46:50That's a good point. Actually, our government is already doing that.
00:46:54We are consulting with various government agencies to have sufficient incentives.
00:47:00At the moment, we are not only using electricity, but we also need to protect our consumers.
00:47:09Correct.
00:47:10Aside from promoting efficient technologies, like you mentioned, LED lights,
00:47:18air-conditioning converter, electric refrigerators, inverter type,
00:47:25we also need to ensure that what they put on their label is correct.
00:47:32We also need to know if the appliances are consuming the right amount of electricity.
00:47:38The Department of Energy put energy efficiency standards.
00:47:44After that, we test each model, each product that claims that their technology is efficient.
00:47:55That's why we're asking our consumers, if you're going to buy appliances,
00:48:01look at the energy label where the DTI and DOE standards are.
00:48:08The energy efficiency rating, as it increases, it means that our appliances are more efficient.
00:48:16Before we buy, let's compare our label.
00:48:20All right.
00:48:20In the eyes of the government, our government is like a well, not only in electricity, but also in water.
00:48:29What can we do?
00:48:30It looks like the air-conditioning is great, or the water is like a well.
00:48:35The connection is not as good as the MWSS where the main comes from because there are many connected.
00:48:43So how can the government save money as a good example?
00:48:47Electricity and water.
00:48:49Our beloved President issued a law.
00:48:53We have a government energy management program where all government agencies are mandated to save
00:49:04a minimum of 10 percent of all utilities, not just electricity, but also water and other government needs.
00:49:14According to our law, our government should be an example in saving all resources, not just electricity.
00:49:24There is also a law that we should use energy-efficient technologies.
00:49:34We are looking at the possibility of putting solar in the facilities owned by the government.
00:49:42To save on electricity, we should produce our own electricity.
00:49:48That's what's included in the law.
00:49:50Not only that, even in transportation, we are proposing the use of electric vehicles, be it hybrid or full electric.
00:50:01We can see that it will be better, cleaner, and we can save money if we will use electric vehicles.
00:50:09But wait Atsec, that means the government will buy electric vehicles.
00:50:13Will our government agencies be spending more?
00:50:17No. It's not like that.
00:50:20We should also have a so-called replitting.
00:50:25If our vehicles are old and fuel consumption is doubling,
00:50:34we can save more if we will buy new and efficient technologies,
00:50:45rather than maintaining the cost and destruction of our equipment.
00:50:51Those are the laws that will save money, electricity and water.
00:50:56How will that be received? Who will monitor and what will be the report?
00:51:00Maybe the people should know if the results are good or not, the agencies.
00:51:07You're right on that. That is a necessary reportorial requirement.
00:51:13All agencies will submit a monthly report to our government.
00:51:18We are the ones who will monitor.
00:51:20We are also having an energy audit and we are re-rating all the agencies.
00:51:26We are re-rating every office of our agencies.
00:51:30But Atsec, our problem is sometimes, it comes with the territory.
00:51:36Maybe the senior level officials have a lot of entourage, three or four vehicles,
00:51:44and there's also an ambulance that will enter the bus lane.
00:51:49Our problem is the perks, the pelfe of the office, especially the senior grade officials,
00:51:57is too big and too many, whether it's the vehicles or staff,
00:52:02or maybe offices that are more spacious and the aircon is at 18 degrees.
00:52:10Well actually, there's no exception.
00:52:13Just like our work-from-home scheme every Saturday,
00:52:24those are the only executives who need to enter the office.
00:52:30They are not allowed to maintain their offices for the public.
00:52:38Wherever designated working places are compiling, all employees should be there.
00:52:44We need to ensure that our target of savings is realized.
00:52:50It should be documented, our savings.
00:52:58There's no exception to that.
00:53:02First of all, we are prohibiting it.
00:53:04We are used to it that some of our executives want to enter the bus lane when it's already cold.
00:53:13That's prohibited. They are not allowed to do that.
00:53:17They are not allowed to do idling.
00:53:19You know, idling, opening the engine and letting the vehicle cool down, that's zero kilometers per liter.
00:53:30That's why we are prohibiting it.
00:53:35We have a lot of laws.
00:53:37It's included in our overall target that the government should save a minimum of 10 percent
00:53:47when it comes to saving not only electricity but all utilities.
00:53:51It's better if you have a baseline data to show that these departments,
00:53:58the consumption of water and electricity, even gas and energy,
00:54:04by the next month, less than 10 percent.
00:54:10So that people can be included and be encouraged that they should save because our government is a good example.
00:54:17We already have that. We have already started that.
00:54:21Where is the data to show that?
00:54:23We have a concerned unit that is already maintaining that.
00:54:27Before the law on energy efficiency and conservation,
00:54:34there are existing policies on energy production where we are already monitoring the establishments
00:54:43and facilities of our government and the private sector.
00:54:47We have already established that.
00:54:50Under our new law, the implementation of our energy efficiency and conservation concept is more strict.
00:55:00We have issued new standards and these standards should be followed by all sectors that are involved in our energy.
00:55:11All right. We will ask for the data so we can monitor.
00:55:16Is that the case for SACO and local government units?
00:55:19You're right. All of them are included.
00:55:22Of course, our coordination with the local government is with the DILG because the supervising national agency of our local government is the DILG.
00:55:35The reaction of our local government units is good.
00:55:40They're not waiting for the national government.
00:55:43There are many local governments that have installed solar panels in their offices to save on using electricity.
00:55:52That's a good news, especially if there will be results and reports.
00:55:57I hope you have monthly reporting that this agency is in line with the 10 percent energy savings target.
00:56:05That will be a good advisory to the customers that we are imitating the government.
00:56:14You're right. At the moment, what we are doing is the first year of the results.
00:56:21We will consider your suggestion of doing monthly instead of annually.
00:56:28We have awards ceremony that we are doing for the highest savings and who is the consistent one who is saving.
00:56:37We have awards that we are giving to those people.
00:56:41How about the palpaks? Is there a baston?
00:56:45The baston is in a different way.
00:56:51In a different way, like?
00:56:54Of course, it's not enough to say that you are using too much.
00:56:59All right. In other words, shame and censure is like celebrating an award or reward.
00:57:12It's like two sides.
00:57:14You should be thankful and give an award to those who have a good performance,
00:57:21and you should joke that you're on a bad trip and your performance was bad.
00:57:28In other words, celebrate and censure is better or carrot and stick.
00:57:34Thank you very much for your suggestion.
00:57:37We will bring this to our management and we will discuss if your scheme is worth it.
00:57:44We know that in recent months, there are some agencies that are saving in terms of not just personnel or plantilya,
00:57:53but there are agencies that have 15 undersecretaries.
00:57:57And of course, in our administrative code, there is a limited number of people that can be hired
00:58:07depending on the state, department, number of vehicles, or access to budget.
00:58:14That's the problem.
00:58:15If you want to look at energy efficiency in the government,
00:58:19it seems like you need to start at the top level.
00:58:25Thank you very much for your observation.
00:58:28We will bring this to our appropriate entities and agencies.
00:58:38We will bring this to our management and we will see if we can match your scheme.
00:58:44Actually, that's why I mentioned it first because you're a CESO, career executive service personnel.
00:58:50Typically, our CESO or career service personnel have an institutional memory
00:58:55of how capable, capable, or capable are the new names of heads of agencies.
00:59:04We will not blame them because there are really good ones even if it's a political appointment.
00:59:09But as career service personnel in the Department of Energy,
00:59:14do you not lose hope that we are always like fits and starts or marching in place again and again?
00:59:22There are many plans that are being implemented when a new head of agency arrives.
00:59:28During my time in office, I did not have the illusion that every leader in our government
00:59:38is according to the policy that our administration is implementing.
00:59:44Actually, that's one of the good motivations for me to uphold my position.
00:59:53You're not having a hard time with the new issues that are popping up or the intensity of the challenge
01:00:00because it's hot and we're still finishing our electricity.
01:00:07Our energy industry is very dynamic.
01:00:11There is no high solution and this is what motivates us to really agree.
01:00:21We don't have a chance to rest and relax.
01:00:30We are always on the go, on the move because we know that energy is a big component or part of our economy.
01:00:42But we're not in the front. We're always in the back.
01:00:46For example, we're promoting information technology, the new technologies of HUBAS.
01:00:53It will be held by other governments and other agencies.
01:00:57We're promoting each other.
01:00:59But we know that if the electricity is cut, we won't have information technology.
01:01:04So we're just in the back, on the move, whatever they need.
01:01:10That's not the case.
01:01:11As we've said, we want to grow our agriculture industry.
01:01:16But we know that through new technologies,
01:01:20there will be a good development in our agricultural industry, right?
01:01:27Again, the industry of energy is behind us.
01:01:32The right electricity, the right energy source,
01:01:35that's what we can use to attain the technologies that are needed in our agriculture.
01:01:41That's my view, the view of almost all of us in the industry of energy.
01:01:47We are backliners.
01:01:49We're not frontliners,
01:01:51but what we're doing is important so that we have a big share in the economic development of our country.
01:02:03All right. Okay. So not frontliners, but backliners or boys on the bench, boys and girls on the bench.
01:02:10But let me ask you one last time.
01:02:12Let's face the customers.
01:02:14What should they expect?
01:02:16Will there really be brownouts in the next few weeks?
01:02:21And what are the problems that they should face?
01:02:27Is this to have an effect on their work, on their well-being?
01:02:33Because it looks like there's certainty, right?
01:02:35There's certainty. We're already on the red and yellow alert.
01:02:41In our assessment of the Department of Science and Technology,
01:02:46there could be a continuous increase in the temperature of our environment
01:02:51and this could last until the middle or third week of May.
01:02:55So we're benefiting from the increase in the demand of our energy, especially electricity,
01:03:02where we're preparing the right solutions, whether it's a mitigation or contingencies.
01:03:10So we're looking at all of that.
01:03:13But what's important is that we're all well-informed.
01:03:17We all know that.
01:03:19Because the success of what we're striving for now,
01:03:25to continue the service of electricity,
01:03:27is not limited to the production and distribution of electricity,
01:03:34if the consumption of electricity is not included.
01:03:37So if we're able to compete in the quality and efficiency of the use of electricity,
01:03:44it's equivalent to a plant of electricity that doesn't need to run because we're saving.
01:03:50That's what we think.
01:03:52That's why we're prioritizing giving information and informing everyone that this is our situation.
01:04:00We have a yellow alert.
01:04:02That means there's a brownout.
01:04:04We're not just saying that we're good because if our demand for electricity will increase,
01:04:09we might have outages.
01:04:12That's what we're trying to achieve.
01:04:14We're hoping that if our consumers know that the consequence if the use of electricity is not right and efficient,
01:04:26we think they will be able to compete.
01:04:30Our principle is that the lack of electricity is more expensive than the lack of electricity.
01:04:39That's what we're trying to achieve.
01:04:41Because we know that if there's no electricity, as I mentioned earlier, we're just behind.
01:04:47We don't have electricity, we don't have technology,
01:04:50we won't be able to watch FB because we can't charge our cellphones.
01:04:55That's the only thing that we can do.
01:04:58Is it possible for a hospital to have an interruption?
01:05:02No. That's our priority.
01:05:06That's one of our most important laws.
01:05:09We need to protect our distribution utilities, vital facilities like hospitals,
01:05:18government offices and local governments that provide direct services to the public,
01:05:25like public service, social welfare.
01:05:29This is our primary target.
01:05:31We also included the location of the ATM.
01:05:36We know that if we need money, if there's no electricity and no ATM, we won't have any expenses.
01:05:42So this is what we're trying to achieve.
01:05:44We're saying that mitigating should be the last establishment or facilities that will lose electricity services.
01:05:54If there's no electricity at all, they will be the first to have a restoration.
01:06:00If necessary, we will put in replacement power.
01:06:05We will put in standby generators because we can't just focus on the well-being of our general public.
01:06:13We can't just focus on the daily services that we provide to the public.
01:06:20That's one of the laws that we gave to our electric power industry stakeholders.
01:06:30All right. So it's good that our hospitals are protected and secure.
01:06:35You said social welfare services, service delivery of the national agencies.
01:06:42But all the other agencies, your call is to save.
01:06:47Consumption should be 10 percent less monthly.
01:06:51You're right.
01:06:53We will wait for your update if there's a monitoring report so that the people can receive it.
01:06:59Maybe for the families, their target is 10 percent less of the consumption that will be reduced.
01:07:06Actually, it depends on the local governments.
01:07:10There are local governments that gave incentives on how to save on electricity.
01:07:16For example, in Iloilo, the local government of Iloilo gave a reduction in real property taxes if they will put solar in their buildings.
01:07:29This is a big recognition to the local governments that are helping the national government to save and use electricity properly.
01:07:43All right. Thank you very much Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan.
01:07:51Mario Castillo Marasigan of Cuenca.
01:07:55Thank you very much. Thank you for the expertise, service and support that you are distributing to us.
01:08:04I hope that we will not be in a hurry until the third week of May, the projection of this very hot weather.
01:08:13Thank you very much and long live to all of us.
01:08:17May God bless us with health.