Renewable energy backed to address power shortage
Senator Lito Lapid on Thursday called on the government to continue using renewable energy to address the electricity shortage in the country.
Amid the problems in electricity supplies in Negros Occidental, Panay Island and other areas in the country, Lapid said the government should resort to clean and sustainable alternative energy solutions, such as solar energy, hydropower, wind energy, geothermal energy and biomass energy.
“Unlike fossil fuels, some energy sources are renewable, and do not emit greenhouse gases,” he stressed.
Lapid suggested the use of solar panels is efficient as an alternative power supply amid the logged high heat index during summer.
“After all, as a tropical country, the Philippines is lucky because of the abundance of sunlight. There is a need for more private companies to invest in the solar industry to meet the shortage of electricity supply,” Lapid said.
He mentioned the frequent brownouts in Western Visayas.
Lapid lauded the recent inauguration of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Backbone Project Stage 3 (CNP3) in Barangay Mansilgan, Bacolod City, which was expected to address the power shortage problem in the Western Visayas.
Lapid also recognized those individuals who opted to use energy generations, saying they should be “given incentives.”
The newly-inaugurated CNP Phase 3 project can operate on its overall capacity of 3,800 megaVolt Amperes.
It consists of 442 circuit kilometers of new transmission lines, 98 circuit kilometers of submarine cables, and the construction of six new substations in Western Visayas.
Meanwhile, Lapid urged his fellow lawmakers to hasten the passage of Senate Bill 2138 — which promotes the use of renewable energy technology within every Filipino household.
Lapid previously filed the Republic Act 9513 declared to “increase the utilization of renewable energy by institutionalizing the development of national and local capabilities in the use of renewable energy systems and promoting its efficient and cost-effective commercial application by providing fiscal and non-financial incentives.”