DOE aims for 100% electrification by 2020

DOE Sec. Alfonso Cusi            LYN RILLON/Philippine Daily Inquirer

The administration of President Duterte has set a 100 percent electrification target for the entire Philippine archipelago in four years’ time as part of its program to spread the benefits of economic growth to stakeholders at the grassroots level.

Speaking before businessmen recently, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the plan also called for the linking of all power grids in the country’s three island groups within the six-year term of Mr. Duterte.

“We are aiming for total electrification of every household throughout our three major islands by 2020,” Cusi said in a speech before European businessmen. “We are also targeting a ‘one-grid Philippines’, with the Mindanao grid finally interlocking with the Visayas and Luzon grids, not later than 2022.”

During the EU-Philippines business summit, the Energy chief encouraged participants to invest in the power sector given the growing electricity needs of the local economy.

“Our priorities in the sector remain centered on energy security, with stark focus on increasing supply, improving reliability and resiliency of our energy infrastructure,” said Cusi.

He explained policymakers were set to “identify the portfolio of installed and dependable power capacities, specifically for base load, mid-merit and peaking requirements” and would hold energy investment fora and regional energy investment briefings.

He said the projects should enjoy “expeditious and preferential treatment in the permitting process, should be protected from court injunctions, and be entitled to incentives, such as exemption from real property taxes and other local taxes.”

He also said the DOE would “resolve with finality the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant impasse.”