Philippine, Japan ink energy cooperation deal

June 22, 2018

The Philippines entered into a technical cooperation agreement with Japan to improve electric infrastructure and power generation efficiency in the country, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Friday.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Kazuhisa Kobayashi, deputy director-general of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), signed the letter of intent (LOI) for the deal at the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office in central Tokyo on Wednesday.

The technical cooperation involves the identification of issues and remedial measures based on Japanese experience and knowledge; proposal of institutional arrangements to propel the installation of facilities with reliable performance; provision of training for the Philippine government and independent power producers to enhance operations and maintenance quality of existing thermal power plants; and sharing of the rehabilitation diagnosis results carried out in line with the action plan.

The plan resulted from a series of coordination meetings between DOE and METI officials to resolve power sector issues.

The plan is also based on METI’s study on the Philippine supply-demand outlook, current electricity tariff, electrification rate, and disaster resiliency that complement the DOE’s performance assessment and audit of power generation, transmission, and distribution systems and facilities.

The technical cooperation deal is in accordance with the DOE’s function to disseminate information resulting from energy research programs for the optimal development of various forms of energy production and utilization, as indicated in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

“The technical assistance is needed for Filipinos to get more value for their money, in terms of investment, energy development and utilization. In the end, it should address the overall drive towards energy efficiency,” Cusi said. DMS