By JEN BAYLON
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson highlighted the importance of a collaborative approach in developing a comprehensive Energy Development Roadmap for the province towards energy security.
During the Provincial Stakeholders’ Consultative Power Summit at the Sanctuario de La Salle in Bacolod City yesterday, Lacson emphasized the need for all stakeholders to work together for power stability.
He urged them to adapt the “just energy transition” to renewable energy, as he discussed the larger context of the challenges brought about by climate change.
“We also believe in a just energy transition to renewable energy to lessen carbon emissions and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change,” he said.
The transition to renewable energy sources will help mitigate climate risks that threaten the livelihoods of residents.
“Given the high heat indexes we’re experiencing now and will likely continue to experience if we don’t change our collective course. We have basically two choices before us: We can continue to bash, blame and complain but do nothing about it and continue to suffer passively; or we can work together to craft a different future for us all, for our children and for our future generations,” he said.
“It can be daunting. It can be scary, with a lot of unknowns and unpredictability. But, if we are bound together by a bigger, collective vision, and if we work collaboratively together, we can forge new paths forward to better futures for all of us,” the governor added.
Lacson said the transition will also support jobs and local communities, while ensuring large-scale access to clean, safe and reliable energy.
The power summit aims to provide solutions to frequent unscheduled power interruptions and high electricity rates in Negros Occidental.
The provincial government is committed to promoting solar energy, as it plans to establish solar photovoltaic systems in its seven main facilities this year, including the Provincial Capitol, the Food and Terminal Market of Negros Occidental, the Negros First Cyber Center, and Negros Residences.
Meanwhile, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who was also present during the summit, said power stakeholders need to collaborate in finding solutions after power outages recently hit several areas in the city.
Benitez said Negros Occidental has daily consumption of 330 megawatts (MW) of electricity, while Bacolod’s peak usage reached 180 MW.
The outcome of the event will contribute to the creation of the Negros Occidental Energy Development Roadmap to 2030, which will focus on reliable, renewable, available, accessible, affordable, and sustainable energy for Negros Occidental.
The summit brought together key stakeholders from various sectors, including power producers, electric cooperatives, energy consumers, academe, civil society, finance institutions, and local government units./JB, WDJ