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ENERGY Secretary Ruben Almendras invited all stakeholders to contribute ideas to address the power crisis and his department?s goal of ?Energy Access for More.?
He presented a framework called the ?Energy Reform Agenda? which the Department of Energy (DOE) is drafting to guide all efforts along this line.
Almendras gave the keynote speech during the 2nd Visayas Energy Investment Forum held Thursday last week in Cebu Parklane International Hotel.
Almendras said the framework would recognize the challenges that the energy sector faces and bring about long-term solutions.
?Once these solutions are in place, energy and economic stability are well within our reach,? Almendras said.
Almendras described the agenda with a diagram of a house labeled ?Energy Access for More? as the ultimate goal.
Below the triangular roof is a base representing ?Good Governance through stakeholder participation, transparency, multi-sectoral partnership and use of ICT (information communication technology)?.
This is supported by three pillars ? Ensure Energy Security, Achieve Optimal Energy Pricing, Develop and Sustainable Energy Plan ? that represent what needs to be done.
?The copies that we will be giving you have a more detailed action plan in it under the three main steps. It is therefore a challenge for all of us, including you, our stakeholders and partners in energy sector, to ensure an enabling environment in a sound climate where clear-cut energy policies will accelerate energy investment activities in the country,? said Almendras.
He said the Energy Reform Agenda was a work in progress and that copies of the draft framework would be given to various stakeholders for their comments.
?We need your help through your inputs and reactions for us to be able to come up with a better version, hopefully before the end of the year,? he said.
Aside from solutions like continued investment in power generation, Almendras underscored the need for effective demand-side management by promoting energy efficient activities, which would help save at least 20 percent of consumption from the households and 25 percent from industries.
Almendras said he believed a dual approach is needed to achieve sustainable energy in the country through demand-side management and supply-side management.
