THE Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development has issued a statement on the national average power rate increase as reported by the Department of Energy in its latest EPIRA implementation report.
“The six-centavo increase in the country’s national average power rate as of December last year, as reported by the Department of Energy, is another question posed as to why DoE is still intent on maintaining and even intensifying our dependence on costly and unreliable electricity from coal for our power needs;
“The power crisis of 2019, where many of the over 60 instances of red and yellow alerts were recorded during the summer months largely due to unexpected shutdowns of coal-fired power plants, caused price fluctuations that sent electricity rates soaring;
“Compare that to a 30 percent reduction in electricity charges if renewable energy becomes our primary source of power, according to IEEFA (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis);
“Even the Philippines’ largest distribution utility, Meralco, attributed price reductions in the pre-quarantine months to the addition of new renewable facilities in its mix. There is no reason why we should continue relying on coal when we have an abundant supply of cheap and clean energy from renewable sources just waiting to be tapped.”
