How tighter power supply forces the Philippines to turn to renewable energy

摘要

If there is a single bright spot in what is otherwise a dire power situation in the Philippines, it is that current challenges seem to be fast-tracking the development of a viable, much-needed renewables sector, buoyed by a tariff system passed earlier this year. In 2013, the Philippines began experiencing strains on its already besieged power sector. In September that year, the strongest typhoon on record, Typhoon Haiyan, devastated Tacloban City in central Philippines, causing massive damage to transmission and distribution infrastructure and "forcing utilities to focus on recovery work costing more than $2.4 billion, rather than on new capacity build-out," says Klair White, editor of EY's Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI).