Philippines declares ‘national energy emergency’ and boosts coal power as Iran war grinds on

The Philippines president, Ferdinand Marcos, has declared a state of “national energy emergency” as a result of the Middle East war, which his administration said posed “an imminent danger of a critically low energy supply”.The state of emergency, which will initially last for a year, was declared just hours after the country’s energy secretary said the Philippines planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.“A state of national energy emergency is hereby declared in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply,” the executive order released on Tuesday evening said.The order authorises the Department of Energy to take direct action against hoarding or profiteering, and to make advance payments to secure fuel contracts.Later on Wednesday, it emerged the Philippines is seeking waivers from the US state department so it can obtain oil from US-sanctioned countries – possibly including Iran and Venezuela – to ensure its fuel supply, the country’s ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, told Reuters. Asked if Washington had responded, Romualdez said the matter was a “work in progress”. As of 20 March, the government said the country had about 45 days of fuel supply remaining and is seeking to procure another 1m barrels of oil to build its buffer.The Department of Migrant Workers, meanwhile, was asked to brace for the possible rescue and evacuation of Filipinos in the Middle East. About 2.4 million Filipinos live and work in the Middle East, including about 31,000 in Israel and 800 in Iran.The government has also started to provide 5,000 pesos ($83) each to large numbers of motorcycle taxi drivers and other public transport workers nationwide to help them cope with soaring fuel prices. Free bus rides have also been provided to students and workers in selected cities.“The declaration … will enable the government, through the [energy department] and other concerned agencies, to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy,” the order said.The order also grants the transportation department the ability to direct public transportation fuel subsidies and reduce or suspend toll charges and aviation fees, while fast-tracking aid to individuals in “crisis situations”.The Philippines, which has some of the region’s highest energy costs, is heavily dependent on imported fuel to keep its power plants running.The archipelago nation of 116 million relies on coal for about 60% of its electricity generation.The energy secretary, Sharon Garin, told reporters earlier on Tuesday that with the cost of liquefied natural gas (LNG) soaring, the country would “temporarily” be forced to lean even more heavily on coal.While hoping to “maximise” the use of local coal, the Philippines was also keeping the option of upping its purchases of coal from top supplier Indonesia, the energy secretary said.“We talked to the generation companies, the coal-powered plants, to check how much they can increase their generation,” Garin said, calling it a “temporary measure” that could start as early as 1 April.“If we are successful in implementing this, at least we can decrease the electricity rate hikes because of the conflict in the Middle East,” she said.Indonesia has assured the Philippines it would place no limits on coal orders, Garin said. “There’s no restriction on our importation of coal from Indonesia as of today,” she said, adding that increased purchases may not be necessary.Marcos in January announced a “significant” discovery of natural gas made near the country’s rapidly depleting Malampaya offshore natural gasfield.It was hoped the discovery could extend the life of the field, which supplies about 40% of power to main island Luzon and was expected to run dry within a few years.