BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson of Negros Occidental has called on local residents to actively participate in the region's drive toward achieving energy security by 2030. This appeal was made during his keynote speech at the Provincial Stakeholders' Consultative Power Summit held at Santuario de La Salle on Friday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the initiative, branded as #RRAAASEON2030, stands for Reliable, Renewable, Available, Accessible, Affordable, and Sustainable Energy for Occidental Negros, targeting the year 2030 for its full realization. He emphasized the necessity of a collaborative approach to overcome the challenges in the energy sector. The summit brought together key figures including Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and former governor Rafael Coscolluela, who now serves as the provincial consultant on energy and environmental issues.
The governor highlighted the diverse group of participants at the summit, which included representatives from national regulating bodies, central power transmission agencies, generation companies, providers of solar solutions for prosumers and institutions, and power distribution utilities. He underscored the critical role of energy consumers and civil society groups, who often suffer the most from high energy costs and insecurity yet frequently remain outside major energy discussions.
The summit featured workshops and presentations that detailed the current power situation in Negros Occidental, as provided by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, along with key findings and recommendations from the Negros Occidental Power Sector Assessment Study. Governor Lacson stressed the importance of stakeholder input in shaping the Provincial Energy Development Roadmap to 2030.