The Philippines needs to undertake long-term energy planning that considers “industrial competitiveness” to successfully transition its power sector, a global energy expert said.
“The energy transition takes many years. It doesn’t happen in one day or one year. Sometimes it takes two or three decades,” said Naomi Hirose, chair of Impact in the World Energy Council.
“That’s why governments should have a clear plan for the next 20 to 30 years, then monitor how you achieve that,” Hirose, the former president and chief executive of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, said during a sustainability talk hosted by Aboitiz Power Corporation.
Hirose said both developed and developing countries should pursue long-term energy planning that is flexible to changing circumstances and factors in “industrial competitiveness” alongside the energy trilemma.
“The government needs to have a clear picture of the country and how the country will develop in the future,” he said.
“In the Philippines’ case, [it should be asked] how it would develop economically so that the kind of energy needed in the future [is planned out],” said Hirose.
He noted that for Japan, power supply would need to expand in the short to long term to support its economy as AI-related power demand is expected to grow “explosively.”
Hirose said efforts should be made to balance the energy trilemma: energy security, energy equity (affordability and accessibility), and environmental sustainability.
Energy security, he explained, also covers the realities of variable renewable energy, the availability of raw materials, and physical and cyber threats.
“Since all of them are very important, effort must be made to balance all three. But this is not easy because these objectives often conflict with each other, creating trade-offs. For example, expanding renewable energy improves sustainability and reduces CO2 emissions but can challenge supply reliability,” Hirose said.
He said a fourth important dimension—industrial competitiveness—has become necessary in addition to the energy trilemma, further complicating this balancing act.
“As the price competitiveness of Chinese products is intensifying in many countries and with the new Trump administration in power, many countries are turning inward to maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of their own industries,” he said.
“Many countries, including Japan, are trying to strengthen the competitiveness of products essential to the energy transition, such as solar panels, and at the same time trying to protect their domestic industries by invoking border policies,” said Hirose.
Hirose said the emphasis and priority of the trilemma have shifted over time. “The lesson that we learned from the First Oil Crisis [in 1973] was the diversification of energy; not only in energy sources but also the source of imports.”
“During that time, people were very much focused on energy security,” he said.
“But as we entered into the 21st century, people’s attention shifted dramatically to climate change,” he said.
Hirose said the Philippines should develop decentralized power systems using solar panels and batteries as an alternative to connecting each island to the main grid.
“The most important part that the Philippines should focus on is energy security,” he said. “There are people who still do not have good access to electric power. In order to address that problem, a decentralized power system for each island is an area the country should focus on.”
According to the 2023 World Energy Trilemma Index, the Philippines has an overall score of 56.9 out of 100, with scores of 59.3 in energy security, 49.4 in energy equity, and 64.4 in environmental sustainability.
