This is my imagined story of what it would look like in the Philippine energy landscape ten years into the future (as submitted to the ENCLUDE Academy energy safari assignment).
In 2032, Filipinos can now apply for government and bank loans to help finance their homes’ solar PV installations and energy storage acquisition. Financing requirements are as easy as applying for a car loan. This arrangement empowers even the middle class to choose a greener energy source. At the same time, marginalized, on-grid communities now also have access to affordable solar lights they could use now and pay later, payable for 12 months.
Meanwhile, the annual revenues of the electric cooperatives (ECs) are at an all-time low as their residential customers decline by the day. Business as usual doesn’t seem to be working for ECs anymore, as they keep fighting for the status quo: Generation, Transmission, and Distribution.
With the heat of decarbonization in the mainstream media and the coal moratorium declared twelve years ago, energy tycoons in the country are being criticized for continuously financing fossil-fuel-based energy projects. In contrast, those who expanded their renewable energy portfolio, and retired their fossil-based power plants early, are being praised.
With empowered end-users, there has been a stir ten years into the future about energy system reformation in the country from centralized to decentralized. Non-government and civil society organizations have been actively engaging in government discussions and new laws, as well as amendments to existing laws, are currently underway.
jessa 