Groups urge solar relief amid energy crisis

MANILA — Two environmental groups are urging the government to deliver immediate economic relief to households and transport workers as the energy crisis deepens, with the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, or CEED, calling for subsidized rooftop solar systems and Greenpeace Philippines warning that expanded oil and gas exploration could lock the country into deeper fossil fuel dependence.

In a position paper sent to policymakers on Friday, CEED called on the national government to cut the cost of the energy crisis for electricity and fuel consumers after Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said fuel prices were unlikely to normalize anytime soon even if the US-Iran war ended immediately amid hopes of negotiations.

Addressing the Senate’s Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy Committee, or PROTECT Committee, the House of Representatives, and other agencies, CEED said the Philippines’ heavy dependence on fossil fuels was imposing a growing financial burden on basic sectors.

“Changes in fossil fuel costs in the global market manifest as highly volatile rates. Pass-through provisions in power agreements enable corporations to relieve themselves of ballooning fossil fuel costs across its value chain, while placing the financial responsibility on consumers. The same story plays out in the transport sector, with jeepney drivers and operators, fisherfolk, and other sectors relying on petroleum products for mobility shouldering higher fuel costs, value added tax, and excise taxes for fuel, while companies dictate costs in a deregulated oil market,” said CEED Executive Director Gerry Arances.

Pass-through charges are costs that utilities are allowed to collect directly from consumers rather than absorb themselves, while excise taxes are government-imposed taxes on specific goods such as fuel.

CEED said a full reflection of coal and gas price increases in electricity bills within the Manila Electric Co., or Meralco, franchise area could raise blended generation rates by an estimated PHP 5.01 per kilowatt-hour, based on Meralco’s latest March 2026 rates.

A blended generation rate is the combined cost of electricity bought from different power sources, while kilowatt-hour is the standard unit used to measure power consumption in household bills.

The think tank said the projected increase followed a 17 percent rise in Newcastle coal prices and a 91 percent increase in JKM LNG prices after the start of the war.

Newcastle coal is a widely used benchmark for Asian thermal coal prices, while JKM LNG refers to the Japan-Korea Marker, a benchmark used in Asia for spot prices of liquefied natural gas.

Meralco said its generation charge for March 2026 rose by PHP 0.2209 per kilowatt-hour to PHP 7.8607 per kilowatt-hour, reflecting higher power supply costs in that billing period.

Higher energy costs are already feeding into broader price pressures, with Philippine inflation accelerating to 4.1 percent in March 2026 from 2.4 percent in February as diesel prices rose 59.5 percent and gasoline prices climbed 27.3 percent amid Middle East tensions, according to Reuters’ report on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data.

CEED said off-grid areas and communities served by the National Power Corp.’s Small Power Utilities Group, or SPUG, could face even higher electricity costs because they rely on diesel-fired power plants.

SPUG refers to the National Power Corp. unit that supplies electricity to missionary or off-grid areas not connected to the main transmission system.

The group said rising diesel prices triggered by the US-Iran war could cause the National Power Corp.’s budget for operating those diesel plants to run out much earlier than its original September 2026 estimate.

CEED said it stood in solidarity with transport groups, fisherfolk, and consumers who are seeking both immediate relief and longer-term solutions to ease the burden of rising energy prices.

“The national government must immediately suspend the inclusion of pass-through costs in our electricity bills. Power companies must absorb rising costs that are part of their business model–which is entirely reasonable considering the profit by the millions and billions they report every year. As for the transport sector, excise taxes and VAT on petroleum products must be suspended to ease costs for consumers and transport workers,” said Arances.

VAT, or value-added tax, is a consumption tax added to the selling price of goods and services, including petroleum products.

CEED said the government should move quickly to subsidize energy alternatives, especially solar rooftop systems, for the most vulnerable consumers as an immediate way to reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.

“At a time of crisis, solar rooftops are an immediate and long-term reprieve for consumers. An aggressive development of solar rooftop systems is a key and viable solution to ease costs for vulnerable communities, including off-grid and SPUG areas. Concretely, with 500-watt solar PV equipment to solarize rooftops for at least one million vulnerable households, we could generate Php 373,140,000 worth of electricity savings per month. The allocation of public resources to bring such a solution to life must be a priority for the national government, on top of fast-tracking the implementation of pending solar projects with a combined 5,664.92 megawatts for generation,” said Arances.

Solar PV means solar photovoltaic equipment, which converts sunlight directly into electricity, while a megawatt is equal to 1 million watts and is commonly used to describe power-generation capacity.

In a separate statement issued on April 10 in Quezon City, Greenpeace Philippines warned against the government’s renewed push to explore oil and gas in the protected Liguasan Marsh, alongside similar efforts in Tawi-Tawi, Cebu, and Malampaya, saying the strategy would deepen dependence on fossil fuels and increase ecological damage and climate emissions.

“Pivoting towards more local fossil fuel sources is not the answer to the crisis caused by a war driven by oil,” said Greenpeace Philippines climate campaigner Jefferson Chua. “Instead of pushing us further towards fossil fuel dependence, it’s the perfect opportunity for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to prioritize the shift towards renewable energy.”

Greenpeace said the move came as the government pursued an energy emergency response and argued that opening new fossil fuel frontiers would worsen risks for already vulnerable communities.

“The administration needs to ensure the country’s resilience amid escalating climate impacts by keeping intact and restoring damaged ecosystems. Opening Liguasan Marsh to extraction risks turning it into a massive carbon bomb. Disturbing these carbon-rich soils can release enormous amounts of greenhouse gases, driving serious climate impacts that put all Filipinos at risk.”

A carbon bomb is a term used by climate advocates to describe a project or area that could release very large volumes of greenhouse gases if developed or disturbed.

Greenpeace cited a recent television report showing residents in Maguindanao del Sur discovering flammable water from local sources, which the group said pointed to underlying oil deposits.

The group said the Department of Energy had described Liguasan Marsh’s energy potential as “very good” after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national state of energy emergency.

Greenpeace added that Liguasan Marsh is believed to hold billions of cubic feet of natural gas and as much as 202 million barrels of crude oil, based on a joint exploration by the state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. and Malaysia’s Petronas.

The group also cited Bangsamoro Cabinet Secretary Mohd Asnin Pendatun as saying after the emergency declaration that the long-term energy solution in Mindanao lies in fast-tracking the vast energy reserves of Tawi-Tawi and Liguasan.

Greenpeace argued that the marsh may contain carbon-rich peatlands and should be protected by strong legal safeguards rather than opened to fossil fuel development in the name of the energy crisis.

Peatlands are wetlands with soils rich in partially decomposed organic matter that store large amounts of carbon, and scientists warn that disturbing them can release significant greenhouse gas emissions.

The Philippines is also preparing its updated Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, for submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, this April, according to the Climate Change Commission.

An NDC is a country’s formal climate pledge under the Paris Agreement, covering plans to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts.

The Philippines’ current NDC commits the country to a projected 75 percent reduction and avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 to 2030, of which 2.71 percent is unconditional and 72.29 percent is conditional on international support.

“We challenge Marcos to walk the talk and uphold our country’s commitment in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Plunging us deeper into fossil fuel dependency would prove him as a two-faced leader in the face of people’s suffering due to the energy and climate crisis. Pivoting to renewables will not only give the earth a chance to breathe—it’s a chance to shield Filipinos from economic shocks brought about by wars overseas,” Chua ended.