THE Philippines needs to have an additional 8,000 megawatts of electricity in the next five years, as the country expects its peak demand to increase to 25,000 megawatts, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
The Department of Energy (DOE) estimated that peak demand by 2028 will reach 25,000 megawatts from the current 17,000-megawatt peak demand, Lotilla said during the Post-SONA 2023 forum on Tuesday, July 25.
“To meet that demand, we will have to make available more than 8,000 megawatts… At least 40 percent of that should be from renewable energy,” he said.
He added: “We’ve got to connect the source from the markets and transmission is key. This has to be upfront rather than later,” he said.
Under the first year of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, 126 service contracts in renewable energy have been signed to help address the demand for more power, Lotilla said.
These service contracts are expected to have a total capacity of around 31,000 megawatts, he said.
The DOE is also working to create an “energy virtual one-stop shop” to improve the timely delivery of permits for the construction and operation of power facilities, he said. (ABS-CBN News)
