By Danessa Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated January 18, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines – The Department
of Energy (DOE) is pushing for a legislation that will declare energy-related
facilities as projects of national significance to prevent a disruption in the
supply of electricity and ease the burden of added costs to consumers.
There is a need for an updated land
use classification which will include energy projects, DOE Energy Policy and
Planning Bureau director Jesus T. Tamang said in an interview.
Currently, energy projects form part
of industrial land use classification.
Under the proposed update in
legislation, an area identified with potential resource or as potential site
for energy will be isolated by local government units and classify it only for
energy use.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the
requirement in law. We hope we can have that one,” Tamang said.
Updating the land use classification
will help right-of-way (ROW) issues in the energy industry moving forward.
In a recent interview, AC Energy
Holdings Inc. president and CEO Eric Francia noted ROW issues are part of a
broader infrastructure concern. It can be experienced in power projects, rail,
roads and airports.
“The good news is, what government
is trying to do is update regulations, laws of the country to make sure ROW
acquisition is more expedient. It is done not at the ERC (Energy Regulatory
Commission) level but at the Congress level,” he said.
As Congress is left with only a few
months to pass laws, the land use classification for energy projects should be
started at the LGU level, Tamang said.
“In the meantime, in the
identification of energy for major facilities and infrastructure,
qualifying and identifying projects of national significance... is to be
facilitated by LGUs,” he said.
Citing the ROW issues transmission
lines and removal of the Pandacan oil depot in Manila, the DOE official said
the costs incurred in these undertakings are shouldered by consumers.
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