PH needs more power infra
The Philippines has gained new power capacity in recent years, but the country still suffers from a form of “energy poverty” compared to many of its neighbors in the region, according to a local think tank, Stratbase-Albert del Rosario Institute.
In its report “Energy Trading, Competition, and Policy Harmonization in the Asean,” the think tank said the country could benefit from regulatory reforms and efforts to encourage investments, public- private partnership (PPP), and projects that will pave the way for international energy trading.
ADRI fellow Bienvenido S. Oplas Jr. said in the report that the Philippines expanded its power capacity “very slowly” in the past decade.
“Currently, the Philippines has the unhealthy image of having the second highest electricity prices in Asia next to Japan. Over the years, this has been one of the biggest deterrents for investors who wish to invest in the Philippines,” Oplas said in the report.
Even Vietnam, which only recently became an emerging economy, has electricity consumption per capita almost twice that of the Philippines, Oplas said. The Philippines’ so-called total primary energy supply, expressed in tons of oil equivalent per capita, is also low, he said.
Citing a presentation of Bambang Hermawanto, chair of the Asean Power Grid Consultative Committee (APGCC), in Manila last year, Oplas said the Philippines could take measures to improve its energy investment prospects, particularly by working with its neighbors in the Asean.
