VOL. 2 l NO. 5 l February 02, 2012
DOE7 assures Cebu has enough power supply for 2012
By Amor Ganda Saludar February 2 (PIA) -- The Department of Energy (DOE-7) assured that Cebu has enough power supply for this year, brushing off concerns of power shortage due to insufficient power supply. DOE -7 Regional director Antonio Labios said Cebu has enough power reserves for 2012 due to the additional 400MW power supply from newly installed power plants in Cebu including the two100-MW each coal-fired power plants of Salcon-Kepco in the City of Naga and another 100-MW power plant in Toledo City. “Cebu has a total of around 1,600-MW power capacity but actual demand is only about 1,300-MW power. So there is an excess of about 300-MW power,” Labios declared during the recent Kapihan sa PIA. Labios added that “we can assure the public that we still have enough power reserve in Cebu and the region as well and that power shortage is least expected,” Labios clarified. But Labios, however, warned that the critical stage would be in 2015 to 2017 when minimal power shortage would likely be experienced. Any critical power situation that might happen in the future will ,however, depend on investments coming in, Labios said. “This is why the DOE is encouraging investors in the power plant industry to put up power plants here,” Labios said. Meanwhile, the DOE 7 is currently evaluating the performance of the service contractors given permits to explore renewable energy resources in the Visayas. Labios said they have to determine whether the service contractors given permits are actually conducting survey and examination in identified areas spotted to have a possible source of renewable energy. (FCR/AS/PIA-CEBU)
COASTAL CLEAN-UP: Franciscan Youths (YOUFRA) of Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor share their time cleaning the coastal areas in barangay Camogao, Erique Villanueva, Siquijor. It’s their way of showing love to the environment in an effort to follow the footsteps of St. Francis, the patron saint of animal and ecology. (Rizalie A. Calibo/PIA-Siquijor)
E-trikes to reduce fuel import, address climate change By Fayyette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, February 2 (PIA) -- Apart from reducing the country’s dependence on imported petroleum, the E-Trike Project of the Department of Energy (DOE) is also an initiative of the national government to mitigate the effects of climate change. DOE-Visayas Field Office Regional Director Antonio Labios bared the government through the DOE is promoting the use of e-trikes because fuel consumption is much less and no smoke emissions that cause air pollution are emitted. “Instead of buying fuel which is quite expensive, e-trike drivers only spend for the recharging of the battery which is less than P100,” Labios said. Labios cited the case of Mandaluyong City, the pilot site of the first e-trikes operating in the country where e-trike drivers only spend P50 per day for recharging their battery. “Imagine the savings e-trike drivers earn because they no longer buy fuel. And if you translate that to the adoption of e-trikes nationwide, then the country will have significant savings on fuel importation,” Labios said. Labios said the incessant rising prices of oil in the global market is making the country captive to costly fuel since we are over 90 percent dependent on imported petroleum. “We need to fast track measures to lessen the dependence of imported fuel and the adoption of e-trikes is one of them,” Labios declared. Labios said promoting the use of e-trikes hopes to see the gradual phase-out of conventional tricycles although he did not disclose a timeline. On top of reducing our dependence on fuel import, e-trikes is also environmentally-friendly because it does not discharge smoke so no carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, Labios further said. Carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases that destroy the earth’s ozone layer contributing to global warming and climate change, this is learned. Unlike conventional tricycles with combustion engines that produces smoke, e-trikes produces no noise and zero emissions, Labios said. (PIA-Cebu) FOR MORE REGIONAL STORIES, LOG ON TO: http://pia-7newsservice.blogspot.com