From left: Marianne Eleanor A. Catanyag (project staff), Dr. Luzvisminda M. Bellotindos (CREST Director), Engr. Isabelo A. Rabuya (project leader), Asst. Prof. Francisco M. Largo, and Engr. Jaybee E. Lacea.Faculty researchers and project collaborators of the USC Center for Research in Energy Systems and Technologies (CREST) participated and presented three papers in the 2nd International Conference on Energy Economics (EnerCon 2018) at Acacia Hotel, Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, Philippines from July 18-20.
Joining CREST Director Luzvisminda M. Bellotindos, Ph.D. at EnerCon 2018 were the CHED Newton Fund Institutional Links project leader Engr. Isabelo A. Rabuya, project staff Marianne Eleanor A. Catanyag, and faculty researchers Engr. Jaybee E. Lacea and Asst. Prof. Francisco M. Largo.
The conference drew participants from industry, academe, government, non-government organizations, and other sectors.
This year’s conference theme was “Energy and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities amidst ASEAN Integration towards Inclusive Growth.” Hon. Cesar Enrique A. Vitara and Hon. Sherwin T. Gatchalian delivered keynote messages.
Virata was a Former Prime Minister of the Republic of the Philippines, Chairman of the Board of Investments, Secretary of Finance, and Presiding Officer of the Monetary Board of Central Bank. He emphasized the linkages between energy and the environment. He said that while energy is now a requirement to be able to meet our basic needs like clean water and to access educational and health facilities, work, markets, banks, and other facilities, different forms of energy have their own characteristics and have their specific effects on environment.
Gatchalian, a Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, Chairman of the Senate Committees on Energy and on Economics Affairs, and a Member of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, shared his vision of “Kuryente for Every Juan,” that is, every Filipino will have access to 24/7 electricity from clean, renewable, and sustainable sources.
Among other notable speakers during the plenary sessions were Prof. Anthony D. Owen (Principal Fellow and Head of the Energy Economics Division at the Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore), Hon. Vicente S. Perez Jr. (Former Secretary of Energy, Chairman of Alternergy and Solar Pacific, Founding Trustee and Chairman of WWF-Philippines, Trustee of WWF-China and of WWF-USA, and a Member of WWF-International Board), Ir. Dr. Sanjayan Velautham (Executive Director of the SEAN Centre of Energy), Dr. Anbumozhi Venkatachalam (Senior Economist at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, Indonesia), and Gregory H. Thorpe (Foundation Executive Director, Oakley Greenwood Pty Ltd.)
The conference was also highlighted by presentations involving local and foreign experts and stakeholders in five parallel sessions, namely Sustainable Energy Innovation, Sustainable Energy from Biomass Sources, Sustainable Energy and Local Economic Development, Microeconomics of Electricity Consumption and Generation, and Sustainable Energy, Policy, Regulation, and Institutional Issues in the Philippines, where the USC delegation presented three papers.
Engr. Lacea discussed his research work “Designing a Cost-Effective Microgrid Power Generation System to Improve Electricity Access of Off-grid Communities” in Session 1. Asst. Prof. Largo presented the research paper on “Welfare Gains from Increased Utilization of Electricity in Island Communities: The Case of Gilutongan Island, Cordova, Cebu” in Session 4. Engr. Rabuya talked about the results of the research study “Household Electricity Access Using ESMAP’s Multi-Tier Framework: Case Study of the Off-Grid Community in Gilutongan Island, Cordova, Cebu, Philippines” in Session 5.
EnerCon 2018 was organized by the Department of Economics of the College of Economics and Management (CEM) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. This triennial event serves as a venue for a wide range of stakeholders in the energy sector to share information and insights pertinent to sustainable energy adoption and development in the Philippines and in the ASEAN region.
by Marianne Eleanor A. Catanyag, CREST project staff
Tags: CREST, Research, Engineering