MANILA — Advocacy group Murang Kuryente has slammed the Department of Energy’s ‘technologyneutral’ policy which ruled out a moratorium on the construction of coal-fired power plants in the country.
The policy was stated by Energy Secretary Al Cusi when he told legislators during the agency’s budget hearing last week that “moratorium on any technology is a disservice to our country.”
“Secretary Cusi’s remarks betray a parochial mentality that focuses on megawatts produced while dooming consumers to paying more for unreliable and polluting energy,” said Murang Kuryente spokesperson Gerry Arances.
The energy consumer advocate also said that Cusi’s policy runs counter to the spirit of the directive issued by President Duterte in his State of the Nation Address. “You cannot divorce the economic, social, and environmental effect of any technology from its output,” said Arances.
Murang Kuryente blames the coal power plants of the country for aggravating the “power crisis” experienced in the run-up to the 2019 mid-term elections. Arances said, “It’s a no-brainer. If you have technology that is more reliable, more affordable, and more sustainable in producing energy, you go for it and abandon old technology, especially if it’s destructive.”
The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world that insists in constructing new coal-fired power plants despite a global trend to halt their continued use.
“Coal makes consumer pay more in their electric bills, makes them sick, and destroys the environment. Renewable energy should not even be an alternative, but rather the first choice in our energy policy,” said Arances