Senate panel OKs 2023 budgets of DOE, ERC, NEA

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate finance subcommittee approved on Friday the 2023 budgets of the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who presided over the hearing, said that the budgets of the energy bodies are deemed submitted for plenary consideration.

The budget of the DOE next year is P2.2 billion. ERC and NEA’s allocations, meanwhile, are P569.9 million and P4.11 billion, respectively.

During the over six-hour deliberations on the agencies’ budgets, several issues were raised such as renewable energy, power outages, and high electricity rates.

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According to Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, foreign investors are enthusiastic to venture into renewable energy in the Philippines “provided that we are able to increase the equity or ownership limits for foreigners.”

Furthermore, the three agencies were urged to find solutions to the perennial brownouts and the costly power rates.

READ: Tulfo seeks probe into endless power outages, rising electricity costs

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