Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
THE global energy crisis has hit the Philippines harder than many other countries, making it hard for us to procure enough fuel at affordable prices. Even before the crisis hit, we already had the highest electricity rates in Asia on a kw/hr basis. This represents 10 to 15 percent of every poor family's household expenses. The global situation has made things worse.
As the geologist Dr. Carlo Arcilla, director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), puts it, 47 percent of Philippine electricity comes from coal, mostly from Indonesia, whose prices have increased by 500 percent in the past two years. Natural gas from Malampaya represents 22 percent of the energy mix, but supply is rapidly declining and gas prices have risen by 122 percent in the last three years.
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