By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
THE Philippines and Japan have forged a technical cooperation agreement to improve electric infrastructure and power generation efficiency in the country, the Department of Energy (DoE) said on Friday.
“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,” said Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi in a statement.
The DoE said the technical cooperation involves the identification of issues and remedial measures based on Japanese experience and knowledge, and institutional arrangements to propel the installation of facilities with reliable performance.
It also covers provision of training for the Philippine government and independent power producers to enhance operations and maintenance of existing thermal power plants; and sharing of the rehabilitation diagnosis results carried out in line with the action plan.
Mr. Cusi and Kazuhisa Kobayashi, deputy director-general of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), signed a letter of intent for the deal at the Japanese prime minister’s office in central Tokyo on Wednesday.
The DoE said the agreement resulted from a series of meetings between the 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 complements the department’s performance assessment and audit of power generation, transmission, and distribution systems and facilities.
