Cusi to DoE: Be better, do better

January 5, 2021 02:00 AM By Maria Romero
https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/01/05/cusi-to-doe-be-better-do-better/

Department of Energy (DoE) chief Alfonso G. Cusi is seeking to recalibrate the way his agency does business to guarantee energy security amid continuous threat of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cusi on Monday underscored that the DoE employees need to “be better and do better” this year to ensure that “the supply of oil, petroleum, and power remained available, constant, and reliable throughout the natural calamities and the pandemic last year.”

For 2021, Cusi bared that one of the DoE’s priorities is to reduce power rate costs and to provide a more robust, stable, and dynamic supply mix with an emphasis on indigenous and renewable energy (RE).

It can be recalled that DoE has been at the forefront of pushing for renewable energy sources while at the same time, opening the West Philippine Sea for exploration and joint development for investors.

The DoE also opened geothermal energy development to foreign investors and imposed a moratorium on greenfield coal power projects.

Amid potential threats to national security, Cusi maintained that opening up of the country’s geothermal sector to greater foreign investments will boost the government’s efforts to utilize RE.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the DoE has so far remitted P4.15 billion from the Energy Regulations 1-94 (ER1-94) Funds to the host local government units nationwide in the fight against the global health crisis.

The DoE also pushed for the extension of the moratorium on non-payment deadline to provide relief to customers, whose livelihoods were affected by the pandemic.

“We continue to review our policies to make sure they are responsive to our current needs, as we strive to encourage foreign investors to consider the Philippines as their next destination,” the energy chief noted.