A maintenance worker cuts grass next to solar panels at a solar energy farm owned and operated by Valenzuela Solar Energy Inc in Valenzuela, suburban Manila on May 28, 2022.MANILA, Philippines — Climate and energy advocates ramped up calls for a shift away from “expensive and unreliable” fossil fuels in the wake of recent power plant outages and capacity reductions.
The power generation in the Philippines heavily relies on fossil fuels such as coal and gas. The country generates 60% of its electricity from burning coal, a major contributor to planet-warming emissions and linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. While the Marcos administration says it is aggressively pursuing a transition to renewable energy, the country is also increasing the reliance on imported natural gas for power generation
According to think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities , the Luzon power grid might face a tight power supply in May, resulting in yellow alerts, as El Niño threatens the country's power sufficiency.