DOE launches new energy conservation drive

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new campaign to encourage the public to conserve energy.

This comes as the Aquino administration is still waiting for Congress to grant the President special powers to address a looming power shortage this summer.

The campaign, called “Energy Sense, Saves Cents,” seeks to increase awareness of the public in energy efficient practices.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said the new campaign  is in support of energy efficiency and conservation across the country.

As part of the campaign, the DOE has launched a series of TV, radio and print commercials highlighting the program.

Through the campaign, the public can get tips on how to conserve energy. One such measure is putting the thermostat of cooling systems to 25 degrees Celsius.

Petilla said this would not only save on costs but would also ease demand for electricity.

The public can expect more tips in the upcoming commercials in the coming month.

Energy Utilization Management Bureau director Patrick Aquino said each household can really save on energy.

“We are highlighting things that each household can do to be more efficient in their energy use... apart from making our household appliances more efficient, is our quest for savings,” he said.

The DOE would continue to spread awareness on the importance of energy efficiency through common examples that citizens can apply quickly in their homes and even share it to others, Aquino said.

Additional tips and more information are available at the wattmatters.org.ph website – the DOE website for energy efficiency and conservation, the department also said.

Last year, President Aquino asked Congress for special powers to avert a shortage this summer estimated at 700 megawatts. The House of Representatives has already approved its version but the Senate has yet to pass its counterpart measure.

This developed as Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said the power distributor is planning to conduct a dry run of the so-called Interruptible Load Program (ILP) this week to assess participants’ level of preparedness.

The ILP is a program wherein big power users will use their own generating capacities to ease demand from the grid.

So far, there are 323 participants under the ILP with an aggregate de-loading capacity of 617 MW.