House energy committee chair Arroyo bats for cheap electricity
House Energy Committee Chair and Pampanga 2nd District Representative Juan Miguel ‘Mikey’ Arroyo.
MANILA, Philippines — House Energy Committee Chair and Pampanga 2nd District Representative Juan Miguel ‘Mikey’ Arroyo said he is committed to helping bring down electricity costs by continuing to push for clean, renewable energy.
During an inspection at the FirstGen Complex in Batangas City, Arroyo checked out their newest project named ‘LNG’ for Liquefied Natural Gas. According to Arroyo, the project was constructed to make sure Luzon will have enough power supply that’s cheaper compared to current power rates.
FirstGen, which is home to four power plants namely Santa Rita, San Gabriel, San Lorenzo, and Avion–uses natural gas from Malampaya and produces 2,000 megawatts or 17% of the Luzon power grid. The problem is, Malampaya’s natural gas supply is depleting.
“Dito pumapasok ang LNG. Para matransport mo ito, you have to convert it from gaseous state to liquid state para tuloy-tuloy na may natural gas ang powerplants,” Jason Samonte, FirstGen Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo Power Plant General Manager explained.
“Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel. It emits about 40% less carbon dioxide than coal, and around 20% less carbon dioxide than oil. While we are pushing towards the development of more renewable energy sources, LNG is a good stop-gap to immediately address the need for reducing emissions given the climate change imperatives”, Arroyo quipped.
Arroyo said he will ensure that FirstGen delivers on its commitment to produce sufficient and affordable power supply for Filipino households.
“The future of the Filipino people is in your hands. Ang commitment ninyo ay masigurong may sapat na supply ng kuryente, mapanatiling malinis ito dahil sa makabagong teknolohiya, at dapat sustainable at mura. Pag mura ang pagproduce ng power, makikinabang ang taong bayan dahil mas mura nilang mabibili,” Arroyo added.
