LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, March 28, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The government of the Philippines aims to attract PHP 3.2 trillion (USD 71 billion) of investment in the energy sector by 2030 in order to solve the problem of poor power infrastructure and low access to electricity, but the question is whether investment in the energy sector is all that is needed for the sector to reach a level of efficiency and profitability that is seen in other countries. This new report from EnergyBoardroom, available today for free download, looks into what this means for the electricity and power sector.

“The Philippines has one of the most sustainable energy models in the world, because we do not rely on the government to build our power plants, but instead rely on the free market,” claims Senator Sergio de la Rama Osmeña III, head of the Senate’s energy committee. However, he also notes that the country’s energy sector “has been stumbling along for decades.”

In 2001, the power sector underwent a radical transformation from public to private when The Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), considered the most progressive energy legislation to come out of Southeast Asia, was first drafted. EPIRA’s raison d’être was to build a sustainable and reliable power supply in order to lower electricity rates in the long term.

“EPIRA promised energy at a reasonable rate, but the definition of ‘reasonable’ is still unclear,” states Congressman Reynaldo V. Umali, Oriental Mindoro Representative and head of the House’s Energy Committee. Under EPIRA, subsidies were eliminated and there was a mass unbundling of generation, transmission and distribution, with over 80 percent of assets privatized today.

Local conglomerates have thrived in the Filipino power sector thanks to a good visibility of upcoming opportunities, and a smaller exposure to risk than multinational companies face on the ground in the Philippines. It comes as no surprise then that families run the majority of conglomerates have also taken advantage of the EPIRA law, such as the Aboitiz Group, which is planning to invest PHP 190 billion (approximately USD 4.4 billion) over the next five years, was one of the first local conglomerates to make a name for itself in the power sector.

Renewable energy is also a key talking point in the Philippines’ power generation conversation. One year prior to the implementation of the 2008 Renewable Energy Act, 49 percent of the Philippines’ total installed generating capacity was fueled by imported coal and oil. However, as of 2011, renewable energy today accounts for 33 percent of the power energy supply mix, and the Philippines has one of the lowest CO2 emissions in the region.

Download the new report from EnergyBoardroom today and find out what the leading executives from across the Philippine power industry think about the future of the sector, and which key challenges lie ahead.

Featuring

Sergio de la Rama Osmeña III, Senator – Energy Committee

Kyu-Byeng Hwang, President – KEPCO Philippines

Erel B. Narida, President – One Renewable Energy Enterprise, Inc

Eduardo V. Francisco, President – BDO Capital

Mike Wootton, Langogan Power Corporation (LPC)

Antonie de Wilde, Emerging Power Inc.

Edgar O. Chua, Chairman – Shell companies in the Philippines

Luis Miguel Aboitiz, Senior VP of Aboitiz Power Marketing and Trading, President, CEO of Aboitiz Energy Solutions and First VP of Aboitiz Equity Ventures

Michael Comi
Focus Reports
+44 203 356 4889
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