PULITZER prize-winning author and energy global expert Daniel Yergin underscored the importance of crafting correct energy policies suitable to the environment of the country, and have these implemented efficiently and swiftly.
Yergin, author of the bestseller The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, said during his visit to the Philippines that “it is important to get energy policies right,” in a bid to entice investors and encourage them to do business in the Philippines for a long period of time.
At the same time, Yergin stressed that one way to encourage investments is consistency in government policies.
“The lesson from around the world, again and again, to assure that you have adequate electricity to support economic growth, is consistency in energy policy. You just can’t change back and forth. What you want to do is encourage investments,” he said.
“In this environment we’re in now, you have to be realistic of how the markets have changed. The attitudes of investors have changed. They have more choices. They are more careful, and have more capital discipline. Consistency and realism, I think, make up a wise investment regime,” Yergin said.
Yergin, likewise, believes that the Philippines should be part of the Asean LNG (liquefied natural-gas) market.
“You have 3,000 megawatts of natural gas-fired plants, and the main field is expected to go down. Gas should be part of your energy mix. In fact, the Philippines should be part of the Asean LNG market,” Yergin said.
Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla has said the agency is currently crafting a fuel-mix policy, one that will increase the share of the LNG to encourage energy diversification in the country.
“We are trying to look at ways how to actually give incentives to balance other energy resources. Perhaps, give tax perks, like in renewable-energy sources. I have recommended this to the BOI [Board of Investments],” Petilla said.
Petilla pointed out that LNG, albeit expensive, is the preferred fuel for sustainable growth and development because it is cleaner than fossil fuel.
Natural gas from the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project off Palawan province currently provides over 40 percent of the country’s energy needs.
Petilla had said that the country’s largest natural gas producer will start losing output from 2015 and will run out by 2024 “if no further activities are undertaken until 2024.”
The Luzon grid is dependent on Malampaya as it fuels three power plants-Sta. Rita (1,000 megawatts), San Lorenzo (500 MW) and Ilijan (1,200 MW).