Government offices across the country have thus far generated savings worth P205 million in the first three months this year through prudent use of electricity under the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP), according to the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2).
The conscientious use of electricity allowed government, often portrayed as profligate and wasteful, to save the equivalent of 20 million kilowatt hours (kWh) as of the period.
The GEMP is guided by the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC) created by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) Act to cut government’s electricity and fuel consumption by at least 10 percent through various strategies.
Prior to the EEC enactment in April 2019, the government managed to save electricity by a cumulative 5 million kWh or only P51 million.
The four-fold increase in cumulative energy savings under GEMP as reported by the Department of Energy is impressive given the GEMP’s limited outreach through the pandemic years, said Alexander Ablaza, PE2 president.
He claims more should be saved in the next three to four years as the impact of so-called forced obsolescence on low efficiency cooling and lighting equipment in government facilities are replaced by more efficient technology.
“PE2 expects new procurement guidelines that would enable the flow of private capital and know-how to public sector energy efficiency projects through energy service company performance contracts, public-private partnership transactions and joint-venture agreements,” Ablaza said.
