SUBSIDIZE CLEAN ENERGY BY AMENDING EPIRA - ANGARA

As the world demand for energy increases while supply rapidly diminishes, Senator Edgardo J. Angara today reiterated the need to implement and pursue renewable energy in the country, and proposing to subsidize renewable energy development by amending one of the provisions in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or otherwise known as the EPIRA law.

Under the EPIRA law, there is a provision pertaining to the universal charge that serves as an additional payment by the end users or electric consumers apart from their main electric bill. One of the purposes of this charge pertains to the missionary electrification.

According to the amendment proposed by Angara, "50% of the allocation for missionary electrification shall be utilized to subsidize renewable energy development which shall include but not limited to research, exploration, promotion and utilization of RE systems and technologies."

"As the consumption of the traditional sources of energy, such as coal, oil and natural gas grow at an increasing rate, the possibility of depletion is not far from happening. Energy prices continue to surge. This poses a serious threat not only to the marginalized sector whose electricity bills eat up a bulk of their income, but to all the other sectors, especially the environment. High energy costs are also a great disincentive for business and investment," said Angara who authored the Renewable Energy Act.

Sohail Hasnie of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that they are considering investing some $1 billion in various renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the Philippines. They said it is ideal for the country to shift to renewable energy sources since the Philippines has high electricity tariffs and a lot of renewable energy sources available and a good regulatory framework to back it up.

"To sustain growth and manage the environmental impacts, it is imperative that we put in place an enabling environment to promote clean development. The future is in clean renewable energy, which is predicted to be one of the biggest industries in the next five years. The benefits of renewable energy use are considerable: it will foster sustainable growth, energy independence and economic security for the country, and unite us with the global effort to stop climate change," said Angara.