There’s a saying that ‘one shouldn’t let a good crisis go to waste.’ Now is one of those times. We find ourselves in a crisis situation once again, this one triggered by a Middle East conflict thousands of miles away over which we have no connection or control. Under threat are over 2 million overseas Filipino workers and our oil supply, 95 percent of which is sourced from the region.
Oftentimes, in times of crisis, we resort to immediate measures and coping mechanisms, many of which are temporary. We tend to revert to normal policy and practice once the crisis abates. Shouldn’t we look at these times as an opportunity to install long-term, permanent solutions so we can avert future crises?
On the energy security front, the immediate concern is both the price of oil and its continued supply. Rising fuel prices and scarcity impact transport, food, electricity, and all activities that require energy. Our entire transport sector is dependent on oil as a fuel. Meanwhile, 60 percent of our electricity is sourced from coal (most of it imported), natural gas (15 to 18 percent), and renewables (20 to 25 percent). Aside from oil, prices for both coal and natural gas are on the rise.
While we are both oil-dependent and import-dependent, now may be a good time to accelerate structural shifts and policy changes to steer us in the direction of reducing these dependencies. To do that, we’ll need to have a convergence between our transportation and energy policies, plans, and infrastructure.
We can start by promoting the use of more electric vehicles (EVs) and active mobility (e.g., pedestrianization, cycling, etc.). Consumer interest in EVs is growing as a result of this fuel crisis, and EVs are already the fastest-growing segment of the automotive market. As the charging infrastructure is expanded, one can expect more EV growth.
But so much more can be done to promote EVs aside from passenger cars. We can, for instance, deploy more EV buses for mass transit and EV trucks for logistics and commercial delivery. EVs have already made their presence felt in the taxi industry. Can we eventually expand this to the jeepney and tricycle space? And for last-mile delivery, can motorcycles with swappable batteries be used instead of conventional motorcycles? All these technologies are already available. Passenger cars are available in both battery EV and plug-in hybrid EV models. Buses by Global Electric Transport/Comet and others run on electric engines. Cities like San Juan, Pasig, and Quezon City have already started EV shuttle bus systems. Mober delivery trucks handle home and commercial deliveries using their electric trucks. Meanwhile, the infrastructure for charging is rapidly expanding.
All this, of course, would not do anything to reduce oil dependency if EV charging continued using traditionally sourced electricity. To be truly green, we need to charge using renewable energy (RE). This is where energy policy fits in. Fortunately, the country has a policy and a plan for expanding the use of RE through its green energy auctions, green energy options program, and net metering schemes. Promoting large-scale RE as well as rooftop solar on a long-term and permanent basis will help improve our energy security picture. With the search and development of more indigenous energy sources, we could come up with a more balanced energy picture in the future.
Aside from the transport sector, another promising area for RE use lies in large estates and cities. Large estates with high electricity demand can use the Department of Energy’s green energy option to purchase electricity from their chosen RE supplier. So, too, can Philippine cities. One good example is Makati, which signed a nine-year contract with ACEN Corp. to provide RE power to city buildings. Makati owns over 150 buildings, and it calculates P300 million in savings for electricity and reduces carbon emissions by 289,885 metric tons. Aside from providing electricity, ACEN will also construct a network of EV chargers for the city to charge its fleet of e-jeepneys, e-buses, and e-shuttles. Quezon City is doing something similar by installing rooftop solar on its city-owned buildings, schools, and hospitals. These are great models for converging energy and transport policy, which enable cities to be more sustainable.
The Philippines has a total of 149 cities and over 1,500 municipalities across the country. Just think of the impact of having more cities run on RE.
The key is to think more long-term and strategically and get away from short-term crisis management, focusing only on solutions that fade away as a crisis abates. Whether we are looking at transportation and energy policy at a national level to urban planning solutions at the local government level, we need to set up institutions within government that take the long view and focus on eventual implementation. We should seriously consider some form of organizational structure that concentrates on getting things done.