DOE, CCC to push renewable energy use in communities still without power

Climate Change Commissioner Heherson Alvarez: Fast for Mother Earth

MANILA, Philippines—The Climate Change Commission (CCC) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are scheduled to sign on Wednesday an agreement for the wider use of renewable energy in local governments, particularly in communities without electricity.

The first Memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding (MOU) between the two government agencies will be signed in Malacañang by CCC Commissioner Heherson Alvarez and Energy Undersecretary Raul Aguilos.

Alvarez said the agreement would signify President Benigno Aquino III’s commitment to promote clean energy sources.

Under the MOU, the CCC and the DOE will establish model renewable energy systems, guide and instruct program participants, and disseminate information on renewable energy systems and their benefits to local communities and the environment.

LGU executives will witness the signing of the MOU.

“This MOU between the CCC and the DOE is in line with the agenda of the Aquino government for the electrification of small communities nationwide and at the same time promote energy security and clean power in small inland and island communities nationwide which remain under-served or unserved by electric utility companies,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez said the government has seen the imperative for the country to create a path from low carbon to zero carbon to help mitigate the disastrous impacts of climate change.

“Transitioning to a zero-carbon economy will not only help the Philippines mitigate the impacts of climate change—which it will continue to suffer disproportionately—but also enable the nation to become an even stronger regional economic power, and a world model for sustainable development,” Alvarez explained.

The CCC made the pact with the office of Aguilos, head of the DOE’s energy, power industry management bureau and the energy policy and planning bureau that has the expertise and the technical capability to assist target beneficiaries in determining renewable energy potential, identify appropriate technology, and guide power project applications.

Aguilos has said that the agreement supports and complements DOE’s mandate to promote the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 and the National Renewable Energy Program (2012 to 2030).

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