Press Release
January 28, 2022
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental – The provincial government of Negros Oriental is marking an important milestone in its commitment to protecting our green province with the launching of its very own Clean, Renewable Energy (RE) ordinance today.
The RE code that was proposed by Edward Du, former president of the internationally-awarded Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) and immediate past PCCI 7 (Central Visayas) Regional Governor, and authored by Board Member and Chairman of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s Environment & Energy Committee Jose A. Baldado was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan who all agreed that it was a timely climate action considering the devastating impact of our warming planet.
The ordinance was unanimously passed by the Sanggunian Panlalawigan on December 23, 2021 and signed into law by Governor Roel R. Degamo on January 11, 2022.
The RE Code is the first ordinance focused on incentivizing incoming RE investors through carbon credits as it prioritizes the use of this clean source of power and bans the construction of coal-fired power plants in the province.
It likewise encourages all eligible institutions and companies to avail of the government’s Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) that allows power consumers with a monthly consumption of at least 100 kilowatts to get electricity from a renewable energy source directly from licensed GEOP providers.
An RE council will likewise be formed to actively pursue policy-making that will accelerate RE development programs for a greener, energy self-sufficient, and sustainable province.
Governor Degamo will lead today’s launching of the RE Code that will be done simultaneously in Sidlakang Negros Village in Dumaguete City and via Zoom for guests from outside the province.
Among the stakeholders who are expected to represent their respective industries and express their messages of support to the RE Code are Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, D.D., Diocese of San Carlos, Negros Occidental and Convenor of broad civil society group REpower Negros; Dr. Juvileo Acabal, General Manager of Negros Oriental I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NORECO I); Silliman University President Dr. Betty C. McCann; Energy Development Corporation President & COO Richard B. Tantoco; and Department of Energy Visayas Field Office OIC-Regional Director Russ Mark T. Gamallo.
Recall that Negros Oriental has already banned the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the province when Governor Degamo signed and released Executive Order 9 on March 28, 2018, declaring Negros Oriental as an environment-friendly and clean energy province.
Governor Degamo took it a step further by being the first to declare a renewable energy day every March 05 through Executive Order 22-18, which he signed in December 2018.
Negros Oriental’s RE ordinance is expected to increase RE investments in the province and help lessen the utilization of coal, which continues to provide about 55% of the country’s power supply. Moreover, the ordinance shall enable Negros Oriental to be the first province with a firm commitment to lower its carbon footprint and help in the global fight against climate change, fortifying its pledge to become a greener province.
