SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday urged State Universities and Colleges, government agencies and local government units to comply with the mandatory energy efficiency and conservation measures due to the tight power supply seen in the Luzon and Visayas grids this summer.

“The government should lead the way in complying with the provisions of the law institutionalizing energy efficiency and conservation,” Gatchalian said.

Republic Act 11285, otherwise known as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act which Gatchalian co-authored and sponsored in the Senate, implements a Government Energy Management Program aimed at reducing the government’s monthly consumption of electricity and fuel use of government vehicles.

The law covers all SUCs, government-owned and controlled corporations, government financial institutions as well as local government units.

“In enacting this law, we want to institutionalize energy efficiency and conservation as a national way of life to secure sufficiency and stability of energy supply in the country and to help cushion the impact of high prices of imported fuels. It will also be beneficial to the environment and our finances. Our government should take the lead to encourage the public to do their share in energy conservation,” the senator said.

In 2020, the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee required the designation of an energy efficiency and conservation officer in all government offices, GFIs, GOCCs, SUCs and LGUs who shall lead in the planning and adoption of energy efficiency and conservation strategies.

A total of 7,441 government offices are required to designate their respective EEC officer but as of October 27, 2021, only 1,760 offices or 24% have complied with the said requirement or 76% are non-compliant, Gatchalian said.

Meanwhile, a recent advisory was issued by the IAEECC to set a 10% reduction target for government agencies’ power and fuel consumption to mitigate the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and to ensure ample electricity during national elections.