MANILA, Aug. 9 – As the country moves toward its golden age of industrialization, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi has urged the power sector to fast-track projects due to the importance of electricity in achieving this goal.
In an interview with the People’s Television Network (PTV) on Wednesday, Cusi acknowledged that 10 percent of the population is still without stable energy sources.
“Our thrust is to have 100 percent energization of identified households. As of now, only 90 percent of the country is energized, meaning, there are still close to 10 million people out there without light and that is what we want to address and extend our assistance to,” he said.
Currently, the DOE is collaborating with the Liter of Light foundation in bringing lighting to remote areas that are not part of the national grid.
“What we are doing here among the kids is creating consciousness on the importance of energy for our economic growth. We must use energy efficiently and effectively... and we must get our youth involved in our undertakings,” the energy chief pointed out.
Meanwhile, the department is also considering other viable options, such as the establishment of a distributed generation system independent of the national grid or micro-grid that is already being done in Panglao, Bohol.
“We chose Panglao to show our neighbors that this is the Philippines and Panglao is a proud jewel of our country for tourism, which is why we chose to showcase this here first. I just finished inspecting Pamiliacan Island, which has the same concept of a micro grid that we are trying to replicate in remote areas,” Cusi said. (PNA/File photo by AAA)
