(The Philippine Star) | Updated October 17, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines -
The PNOC-Renewables Corp., the renewable energy arm of state-run Philippine
National Oil Co. (PNOC), could be abolished as the renewables sector is already
flourishing without its intervention, a lawmaker said.
In an interview with
reporters last week, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he sees the possibility of
recommending the closure of PNOC-RC since the sector is already moving forward
even without government entering the picture.
“I think as a policy, I
don’t see the rationale why PNOC-RC should continue going into the renewable. I
see it as another layer of inefficiency,” he said.
This conclusion was
based on a series of hearings on the power sector conducted by the Senate
committee chaired by Gatchalian.
“I was questioning the
intention of PNOC-RC to go into renewables because without them, the renewable
sector is already flourishing. So why are we competing with the private sector?”
Gatchalian said.
In 2015,
PNOC-Renewables defended its mandate to engage in electricity generation after
the Department of Justice said PNOC and its subsidiaries could not engage in
power generation.
In particular, the
state-owned firm said its mandate to generate power by harnessing various
renewable energy sources focused on off-grid areas is is in line with the
policy of the government to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and
achieve energy independence.
However, Gatchalian
pointed out PNOC-Renewables has not really gotten into the off-grid areas—also
called missionary areas—since then.
“The private sector is
not going to missionary development because it’s not yet practical. So if
government goes in, it could mean more losses,” the senator said.
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