The latest World Bank report said the Philippine energy sector will need to overcome the dual challenges of meeting fast-growing demand and transforming its fossil fuel based infrastructure while keeping energy supply secure, reliable, and affordable.
The sector will have to grow rapidly to support the country’s ambition of ending poverty and becoming a prosperous middle class country by 2040. It would also benefit from an energy transition toward low and zero carbon alternatives.
It said a clean energy transition would enhance the country’s energy security by substantially increasing the use of indigenous and renewable energy resources while reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels. This makes a cleaner energy future more affordable, given the global trends of declining costs related to deploying and integrating solar and wind power.
Further, reducing fossil fuel consumption, particularly by electrifying urban transport and reducing the use of coal in power generation, would improve public health.
Feng Liu, World Bank senior energy specialist and infrastructure program leader for the Philippines, said the country’s energy sector is dependent on imports and also has among the highest energy prices in the region. On the bright side is that we are not saddled with explicit energy subsidies like in some countries in the region. Other advantages are the abundance of renewable energy resources, as well as its private sector development.
Liu however said that if the Philippines is going for accelerated decarbonization in the power sector, it really needs international help, not just in terms of technical assistance, but also in the financial side as well.
The WB recommended the improvement of power system planning to better guide energy transition investment decisions, as well as the establishment of a framework for addressing the early retirement of coal-fired power plants, and ensuring a just energy transition.
A developing country shouldn’t rely on its status as such to shirk from the shared responsibility to the planet, particularly when it comes to energy transition, but that is what the Philippines has been doing as it has even been building and commissioning even more coal powerplants while the rest of the world focused on energy transition.
If our government needs help from the international community in kick starting its energy transition in the right direction, perhaps the officials responsible should consider the WB recommendations and offer.*
