September 6, 2024
Quezon City, 04 September 2024—Representatives from businesses, hotels, and academic institutions gathered at The Climate Reality Project Philippines’ REalize Conference to explore the opportunities offered by the government’s Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) in providing a sustainable and cost-effective solution for powering their infrastructures and operations with 100% renewable energy.
REalize is committed to educating Philippine industries about the advantages of GEOP, empowering businesses consuming an average of 100 kilowatts or more to seamlessly transition to 100% renewable energy without additional capital investment. Earlier this year, Climate Reality Philippines collaborated with Health Care Without Harm to launch the conference, initially focusing on the country’s health sector.
“Our goal was to make GEOP accessible to everyone, especially those who stand to gain the most from it. We hope these impacts transcend beyond the confines of your businesses and reach the general public, our fellow Filipinos, who deserve the utmost service,” Nazrin Camille Castro, Branch Manager of The Climate Reality Project Philippines, said.
Diversifying the country’s portfolio with renewable energy
As imported coal remains dominant in the country’s power mix, Filipinos will continuously bear escalating electricity rates due to global market price volatilities that are passed on to consumers.
“Distribution utilities procure their energy from coal-fired power plants. So whenever international coal prices increase, tumataas din ‘yung presyo natin,” Engr. Jephraim Manansala, Chief Data Scientist of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), explained.
Engr. Jordan Ballaran, Senior Science Research Specialist at the Department of Energy (DOE), reported that the department envisions upscaling renewable energy by more than 50% in 2050 to enable access to cheaper and reliable power.
Renewable energy has emerged as the most price-competitive option for Filipinos among other power sources. Engr. Manansala cited that over the past decade, electricity prices from solar energy and off-shore wind declined by 89% and 70%, respectively.
More than the economic advantages of renewable energy, the sectors—especially schools and universities—found their potential to support climate mitigation goals.
“The Department of Education (DepEd) is already veering towards the use of renewable energy in many of our programs. It’s an enormous task, considering that we’ve started moving away from normal, regular, or fossil fuel energy into renewable energy. And if I may share to you that for purposes of climate change, addressing climate change, is for our schools to be more resilient,” Epimaco Densing III, DepEd’s Undersecretary for School Infrastructure and Facilities, declared.
Empowering climate-resilient sectors with GEOP
Through GEOP, businesses can now negotiate contracts with their chosen suppliers to meet their specific energy needs.
Early GEOP switchers like the First Philippine Industrial Park Inc. (FPIP) and Seda Vertis North joined the conference to share their switching journey.
Engr. Nelson Lontok, FPIP’s Operations Planning Lead, testified that the company has avoided 2,140 tonnes of CO₂ emissions in 2023 and expects to save another 3,700 tonnes of CO₂ emissions this year through GEOP.
Engr. Nolan Pagkatipunan, the Chief Engineer of Seda Vertis North, added they saved P10 million from generation costs since their switch to 100% renewable energy.
Ronald Atadero from 350 Pilipinas noted that schools are motivated to join GEOP primarily to generate savings, which can be redirected to enhance services for students and faculty. 350 Pilipinas works to increase GEOP end-user participation by engaging Catholic schools and other state universities to participate in the program.
Proposed rule changes in GEOP implementation
In the proposed GEOP rule amendments, entities that do not meet the energy threshold but are located within certain boundaries, such as subdivisions, villages, economic zones, and business districts, can aggregate to meet the current peak demand threshold.
The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), the central registration body for GEOP, looks forward to an electronic-based switching application.
“This is backed up by the issuance of the Department of Energy on the electronic-based regime, where the renewable energy suppliers and GEOP end-users will be able to submit their switch requests in the comfort of their offices or homes,” Atty. Lilibeth Grace Vetus-Magtalas, IEMOP’s Legal Manager, explained.
Information campaigns like REalize conferences are essential in accelerating the role of GEOP in achieving the country’s renewable energy agenda while catering to the energy needs of relevant stakeholders. These platforms magnify the demand for better energy infrastructures and policies in the country.
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