Gatchalian on Energy Consciousness Month: Save energy during the holidays

Senator Win Gatchalian urged the public to practice energy efficiency during the holidays to save money.

Gatchalian also called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to intensify the information campaign to stir public awareness on the judicious conservation and efficient utilization of energy resources.

"This policy is explicitly provided to be carried out by the DOE under RA 11285 or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act as well as Proclamation No. 1427," he said.

Proclamation No. 1427 declares December of every year as Energy Consciousness Month.

Under the provisions of RA 11285, the DOE is tasked to develop and undertake a national awareness and advocacy campaign on energy efficiency and conservation in partnership with business, academe, non-government organizations, and other sectors.

Gatchalian enjoined the public and establishments to consider using energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs which requires less maintenance and comes out cheaper instead of the traditional incandescent string lights for Christmas decorations.

While the use of electronic devices is likely to be frequently used during the holidays, the senator said it will be better to keep gadgets unplugged when not in use and turn off idle appliances to lower energy consumption and lessen spikes in electricity bills.

Since the implementation of RA 11285 in January 2020, the Senate Energy Committee Chairperson noted that the DOE has yet to carry out 39 provisions of the law.

"Half of it is still not implemented. This law is very important because it promotes energy efficiency by mandating certain consumption levels for commercial and industrial corporations and it gives DOE a lot of power to implement efficiency and conservation in businesses. We're urging the DOE to fully implement this because if we can save, then that's already tantamount to producing new electricity," he said.

"We've seen some initial data and we've seen savings of about 23% from businesses if this law is fully implemented. That's the same savings that we can realize if the government also fully implements the law," he added.

Panawagan ni Gatchalian ngayong Energy Consciousness Month: Magtipid sa kuryente

Nanawagan si Senador Win Gatchalian sa publiko na sanayin ang tamang paggamit ng kuryente sa panahon ng kapaskuhan upang makatipid sa gastusin.

Hinimok din ni Gatchalian ang Department of Energy (DOE) na patindihin pa ang information campaign upang maiparating sa publiko ang tamang pagtitipid at paggamit ng kuryente.

"Ang patakarang ito ay direktibang nakapaloob sa RA 11285 o ang Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act pati na rin sa Proclamation No. 1427," aniya.

Ang Proclamation No. 1427 ay nagdedeklara sa buwan ng December bilang Energy Consciousness Month.

Sa ilalim ng mga probisyon ng RA 11285, itinalaga sa DOE ang pagbabalangkas at pagsasagawa ng mga advocacy campaign at pagpapalaganap ng mga impormasyon na may kinalaman sa tamang paggamit at pagtitipid ng kuryente katuwang ang sektor ng negosyo, academe, non-government organizations at iba pa.

Hinikayat din ni Gatchalian ang publiko at mga establisyimento na ugaliing gumamit ng light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs na mas mahusay at lumalabas na magiging mura kalaunan kaysa sa tradisyunal na incandescent string lights na ginagamit sa mga Christmas decorations.

Dahil hindi maiiwasan ang madalas na paggamit ng mga electronic devices sa panahon ng kapaskuhan, hinihikayat din ng senador na palaging i-unplug ang mga gadgets na hindi ginagamit pati na rin ang mga appliances upang bumaba ang konsumo ng kuryente at maiwasan ang pagtaas ng electric bill.

Simula noong ipatupad ang RA 11285 noong Enero 2020, sinabi ng Senate Energy Committee Chairperson na may 39 na probisyon pa ang batas na hindi pa nailalatag ng DOE.

"Kalahati ng mga probisyon ng batas ay hindi pa naipapatupad. Importante ang batas na ito dahil isinusulong nito na maging mandato ang maayos at mahusay na pagkonsumo ng kuryente ng mga commercial at industrial na mga korporasyon at binigyan ng karagdagang kapangyarihan ang DOE para ipatupad ito. Kaya nananawagan kami sa DOE na ipatupad na ng ganap itong batas na ito dahil makakatipid tayo at ang katipirang ito ay katumbas na rin ang pagkakaroon ng panibagong suplay ng kuryente," paliwanag ni Gatchalian.

"Sa mga inisyal na datos na nakita namin, makakatipid ang mga negosyo ng aabot sa 23% kung magiging ganap na itong batas. Ganun din ang katipirang maaabot ng gobyerno sakaling naipapatupad na ito nang husto," dagdag pa nya.