ANGELES City, Pampanga — Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. is set to ensure that all 33 barangay utilities in this city would use renewable energy by October 2024.

According to Lazatin, aside from the said barangays, he is also eyeing all government offices and six rural health units (RHM) in the city to utilize renewable energy.

Lazatin said the installation of solar panels will allow for a more prudent use of electricity since all government offices and barangays will make maximum use of solar power or the sunlight being converted into electricity.

With this move, the city government will be able to save P100 million in electricity expenses a year, which will be allocated to other social projects.

“This will prove to be cost-efficient and will allow the use of alternative power other than fossil fuel, which powers most electric plants,” he said.

With the project, Angeles City is one of the few local government units, to use solar energy as sustainable power. 

“We have to tap renewable energy that is most cost-effective and cost-efficient,” according to Mayor Lazatin, who is an advocate of clean energy and environmental protection.

City Engineers Office, headed by Helen Ayro, has already taken the initial steps for the installation, inspecting all offices and buildings in the barangay and RHUs.  

Some of Lazatin’s programs for the environment included the regreening of the Sapangbato Watershed, where the city government had already planted more than 70,000 trees, including fruit-bearing trees.