Energy security remains at the forefront of the Department of Energy’s (DoE) strategic direction as it aggressively pursues energy investments in the exploration, development, and utilization of indigenous energy resources.

Thus, Energy chief Alfonso G. Cusi said the agency is closing the year a few steps ahead of its targets this year.

“Part of our energy security is round-the-clock access to a reliable and quality electricity supply. After conducting nationwide focus group discussions and public consultations, we will release the Department Circular adopting the General Framework for Ancillary Services before the year’s end,” Cusi told reporters.

Cusi said the circular will help ensure the availability of power reserves for seamless grid operations.

In terms of the need to establish firm petroleum reserves, Cusi said the DOE has already submitted its recommendation to the Office of the President on the creation of an Oil Contingency Committee.

According to Cusi, the committee will handle immediate oil supply concerns in the event of natural, man-made or geopolitical events that may cause supply disruptions or sharp volatilities in world oil prices.

“In addition, we have also requested the PNOC to establish a Strategic Petroleum Reserve Program,” Cusi said.

To encourage greater transparency within the power sector, the DOE is now formulating a separate circular requiring the publication of the scheduled maintenance outages of power plants.

The DoE is also ramping up the promotion of a competitive market under a regime of fair prices in the downstream oil industry through an Oil Price Unbundling Circular.

Cusi said the mandate is a balanced approach allowing the DoE to actively protect consumers by preventing prohibited acts such as predatory pricing and cartelization.

The cabinet official said that this year, the five-country international campaign of the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program is among the department’s initiative that attracted widespread interest, both locally and abroad.

“As a result of our strong promotional efforts, for 2019 alone, we have welcomed over 40 companies for exploratory meetings; received five applications from four companies on four of our 14 Pre-Determined Areas; and 24 area nomination requests from 13 companies,” Cusi said.

“We look forward to the awarding of compliant applications, as well as the entry of more interested parties in 2020,” he added.