Electricity supply safe from MidEast unrest — Malacañang

Despite the unrest in the Middle East, the country has enough electricity to meet its needs, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said Wednesday In an interview on radio dzRB, Coloma said, “Sa atin pong energy situation — kung tutunghayan po natin ay ‘yung electricity o electric power — hindi po tayo masyadong apektado doon sa volatility ng oil prices dahil nine percent lang po ng ating electric power generation ang nakasalalay sa fuel “Kaya una pong action na kailangan nating gawin ay palitan na po iyung oil bilang primary source ng ating transportation movement. At ang una pong program natin diyan ay iyung sa pinakabasic na transportation na ginagamit ng pinakamaraming mamamayan ngayon — ‘yung tricycle," the Palace official said. The national government recently launched a program to build units of electric tricycles, or e-trikes, as part of the long-term solution towards a sustainable, energy-efficient transport model for the country. The Asian Development Bank funded e-trikes that use lithium ion batteries. While the cost of lithium batteries is almost double that of lead acid batteries, their operational life is 15 times longer. Currently, e-trikes cost from P185,000 up to P200,000. Coloma said the government also planned to focus on other forms of public transportation, like jeepneys and buses. Many countries have already shifted to liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas and other alternative sources of energy to lessen the dependence on petroleum-based fuel, he noted. Coloma also said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Department of Energy are now firming up specific measures for tricycles and other utility vehicles to shift to sources of energy other than petroleum-based fuel. — AY/VS, GMA News