The Department of Energy (DoE) warns that the country risks wasting its momentum in attracting investors unless it rapidly improves execution, grid readiness, and critical infrastructure needed to support large-scale energy projects.

In an interview with reporters on Monday, Energy Undersecretary Mylene C. Capongcol said the government is now “moving deliberately from plans to projects, from commitments to concrete outcomes,” stressing that “energy security is no longer a technical aspiration, it is a national imperative.”

Vulnerability to climate shocks and fuel price hikes

However, she noted that the country’s vulnerability to climate shocks and fuel price spikes make delays particularly costly.

“Every disruption in fuel supply, every spike in global prices, and every extreme weather event directly threatens our economy, our communities, and our most vulnerable citizens,” Capongcol said.

Despite energy projects accounting for 58.74 percent, or P479.78 billion, of investment approvals this year, Capongcol warned that project rollout remains slow. “Interest alone does not build power plants. Execution does,” she said, citing bottlenecks in transmission, permitting, supply chains, logistics and financing.

The DoE is pushing to accelerate projects supporting its target of a 35 percent renewable energy share by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050. This includes offshore wind — estimated at 19 to 50 gigawatts — but Capongcol said these opportunities depend on upgraded ports, stronger grids, and better coordination across agencies.

“We are upgrading port infrastructure to support the first round of the offshore wind projects and, eventually, large-scale clean energy development,” she said.

Smart Green and Grid Plan

To address grid constraints, the Smart Green and Grid Plan will soon be embedded in the transmission development roadmap.

Capongcol noted that the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project marked progress toward a unified grid, but stressed that more capacity and flexibility are required.

“Generation alone is not enough,” she said, calling for investments in “ports, transmission, energy storage, system flexibility, and domestic manufacturing.”