US offers to help Phl bring power costs down

MANILA, Philippines - The United States government has offered to help the Philippines bring down its cost of power.

Through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Embassy in Manila, the Philippine and US governments jointly launched yesterday the Energy Policy and Development Program (EPDP).

EPDP is a four-year, $5 million project that aims to strengthen the Philippine government’s capacity to formulate evidence-based policies and strategies for the cost-effective use of energy resources toward environmentally sound energy development.

“The Philippines has become one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and represents new opportunities for trade and investment that create jobs. Crucial to this, businesses need stable supply and low cost power to be competitive while households need access to reliable and affordable electricity to be productive,” said US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg.

In essence, Goldberg said the new partnership would help develop and promote knowledge, research and best practices in the energy sector that will be important to sustain the impressive growth achieved by the Philippines in the recent years.

The program will operate as an independent think tank that will guide policy and decision-making, and provide inputs to establish an academic and policy program at the University of the Philippines.

EPDP will also help inform private sector business strategies in ways that support sustainable economic development.

As such, the program will assist the University of the Philippines School of Economics to develop institutional linkages with US universities and institutions with expertise in the energy sector, to include: University of Hawaii, Tufts University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, International Food Policy Research Institute and University of California Energy Institute.

EPDP is just among many projects between the Philippines and the United States, which have a long history of partnership solidified under the bilateral Partnership for Growth (PFG).

“The US government, through USAID will continue to support the government of the Philippines’ efforts to reduce the high cost of electricity and promote access to affordable power,” said USAID mission director Gloria Steele.