Senator Sherwin Gatchalian goaded power distribution facilities Friday to contract more renewable energy sources, stressing this will benefit electricity consumers amid global energy risks.
The senator aired the call in the wake of the recent move of the Department of Energy to increase the percentage of the utilization of RE for on-grid areas from 1 percent to 2.52 percent set to take effect in 2023. The development of RE resources, he noted, is central to the energy department’s sustainable energy agenda. In 2021, as RE accounted for 22.40 percent of the country’s energy mix, with coal-based power plants accounting for 58.48 percent, while oil-based and natural gas power plants contributed 1.52 percent and 17.60 percent, respectively.