When Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) wreaked havoc on the Philippines in November 2013, the most urgent needs were food, water, shelter and medical supplies.
After these basic human-survival essentials, restoring power is a vital element to disaster response—to keep overstretched hospitals running, provide light to restore order at night, provide warmth if needed and power for vital communications.
Unfortunately, Yolanda has left the Philippines’s power grid badly damaged and out of action. The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines has reported some 566 transmission towers and poles leaning or toppled, and seven substations hit by the supertyphoon, leaving the people of Eastern Samar, Bohol and Cebu with limited or no power for months.
This is far from an energy-resilient infrastructure we have in mind, which is to be able to withstand man-made and natural disasters and immediately return to normalcy.
On the average, about 19 typhoons hit the Philippines every year, which also consequently bring about flash floods, storm surges and landslides. The country, which lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, is also prone to earthquakes.
With the Philippines being one of the most vulnerable countries to disasters, the Department of Energy (DOE) pushes for “Energy Resiliency for Sustainable Growth” for the National Energy Consciousness Month (NECM) this December.
“Calamities do not only impede continuous flow of energy, but have a larger impact to economic growth and stability,” Energy Sec. Zenaida Y. Monsada said.
For 2015, the government, through the DOE, is aggressively pursuing the thrust to ensure energy-resilient systems not only in the Philippines, but also among neighboring and trading nations around the world; and in international conventions, such as the Asean Ministers’ Energy Meeting in Malaysia, Singapore Energy Week and the 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris.
The DOE also led the hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) 12th Energy Ministers’ Meeting (EMM12), which was held from October 12 to 14 in Cebu City, in which member-economies committed to build energy-resilient communities to sustain growth.
In line with the NECM’s theme, the DOE hosted a series of activities for December, among them, Safety and Health Association of the Philippine Energy Sector (SHAPES) sharing of Best Practices and Awarding Ceremonies 2015; Don Emilio Abello Energy Efficiency Awards; Oil and Gas Security Exercise; DOE-Gender and Development Energy Toolkit launch; Philippine Electricity Summit 2015, leading to the Presentation of Fuel Economy Run Results on December 17.
DOE field offices also held different activities in various provinces, such as Calibration Training for LGUs in Bohol; Energy 101 for Engineering Students in Bacolod; IECs on Energy Conservation and Forum on Renewable Energy in Negros Occidental, culminating to IECs on Students Exposure for Comprehensive on Renewable Energy Technologies and Downstream Oil Industry Energy Conservation in Davao City on December 21.
The NECM, an annual monthlong celebration in accordance with Proclamation 1427, is spearheaded by the DOE. This event aims to increase public awareness on energy-related campaigns, activities and programs, strengthening the government’s policy on energy efficiency.
Apec forms task force on energy resiliency
During the Apec-EMM12 in Cebu City, the Philippines and the United States cochaired a task force that the Apec Energy Working Group has created on energy resilience.
The task force is set to work on disaster-proofing energy infrastructure; advancing cutting-edge energy-efficiency technologies; promoting community-based clean-energy use in poverty-stricken areas; and improving energy trade and investment in Apec.
“This task force will eventually become a working group,” said Monsada, who is the chairman of the Apec Energy Ministerial Meeting this year.
The creation of the task force is contained in the Cebu Declaration and Instructions, a joint statement issued by the 21 Apec energy ministers. The document contains instructions to draw up action plans that will concretize the vision of having energy-resilient infrastructure.
To achieve this, the ministers adopted the following recommendations: conducting vulnerability assessment, including regional geo-hazard maps; exploring of best practices in enhancing the quality of electric-power infrastructure; undertaking research and development programs; and sharing information on energy-infrastructure technology advancements and technological innovations.
To advance energy-efficiency technologies, Monsada said, the ministers agreed to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of available energy-efficient technologies; develop minimum energy-performance standards; explore the potential adoption of fuel quality and vehicle-efficiency standards; and pursue the Apec goal of reducing energy intensity by 45 percent by 2035.