A VIEW of General Santos at night as seen from Sanchez Peak, a popular spot in an upland area within the city. — EPORTAL.GENSANTOS.GOV.PH

GENERAL SANTOS City, one of the main urban centers in Mindanao and known as the Philippine’s tuna capital, is the first local government in the country’s south to start developing its own energy code to ensure sustainable and affordable electricity supply.

“As we endeavor to codify our energy plans and programs, and with General Santos City being the lead in Mindanao is a very important, giant step towards demonstrating that we have the matters in our hand,” Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Executive Director Romeo M. Montenegro said during the Local Energy Code Training-Workshop on Jan. 26. 

All provinces, cities and municipalities are mandated to draft localized guidelines to streamline the processing of energy projects. The code is also intended to integrate power supply plans into the overall development strategy.

This requirement is contained in Republic Act No. 11234 or the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) Act passed in 2019, and a corresponding joint order from the energy and local government departments.

Having an energy code, Mr. Montenegro said, gives local governments direction and control “in developing the kind of energy to effectively address the long-term adverse impact of climate change and promote energy transition.”

The MinDA official said while the southern islands currently enjoy excess energy level and the city’s distributor has a firm 25-year contracted supply, demand is expected to grow faster in the next couple of years, especially in urban hubs such as General Santos. 

“The coming up of local energy code will serve the purpose of guiding all stakeholders, the private sector and the local governments in terms of framing the kind of development that we all desire for our respective LGUs (local government units) — a development that is not only looking at economic metrics or addresses poverty situation, but a kind of development that looks at the impact of the current situation,” he said. 

Mr. Montenegro, who also heads the technical working group of the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee, also said the recent signing of another law, the Microgrid Systems Act under RA 11646, paves the way for faster rollout of off-grid energy systems in remote areas.

“This is exactly the direction we want to pursue vigorously in Mindanao to achieve 100% electrification target even before,” he said.

He stressed that energy supply — one that is inclusive and with a balanced mix of renewables and fossil fuel — “is very much aligned” with the peace and development roadmap for Mindanao. — MSJ

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