Missing connections

I HAVE spent a considerable amount of time this past week organizing an upcoming Manila Times forum titled "Building Energy Security through Innovation," which will be presented in an online format on Thursday, January 26. I invite everyone interested in the topic of energy — which, in my opinion, should be everyone who uses and has to pay for electricity — to tune in.

My reason for developing this forum in the first place was this: While negative news about the energy sector seems to dominate the headlines — tales of high power rates, energy suppliers behaving badly and warnings of looming power shortages — there are actually a great many promising developments that are not as well known to the public. Behind a president who at least demonstrates an appreciation for energy innovation, renewed competence and vigor at the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission have led to promising policy innovations, which in turn are intended to make use of technology and market innovations that are becoming available.