(Taguig City) In view of the growing energy demands in the country, the Department of Energy (DOE) headed by Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla calls for practical methods to ensure the Department’s aim for an energy efficient nation.

In line with this, the DOE is already spearheading the introduction of inter-active websites that can inform and create awareness to the consumers regarding energy efficiency. The wattmatters.org.ph encourages web visitors to calculate as well as simulate the monthly consumption, savings and projected energy efficiency of their desired appliances.  The kuryente.org.ph acts as a reference for consumers to be informed of the present electricity prices in their areas and the contents of their electricity bills.

 Since the website launch, the Secretary stated that bringing awareness to the consumers is the most effective technique in broadening the people’s understanding in the energy sector.

 “Transparency in the sector is a good model to create awareness and sound partnerships with our consumers… by then, they can be part of the solution of reducing our power consumptions, thus promoting efficiency and saving money as well.” said Sec. Petilla.

 The Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) has been robust in promoting energy efficiency through Information, Education and Communication Campaigns (IEC). Majority of IECs are hosted by Electric Cooperatives with their member-consumers as audiences. They presented the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) for air conditioners where a higher EER has a more efficient motor than the one with a lower EER. Furthermore, they familiarized the attendees with the Energy Efficiency Factor (EEF) for Refrigerators where a higher EEF consumes less electricity as compared with one having lower EEF.  

 The DOE is continuously convening IECs to inform consumers of the different methods to reduce energy consumption and espouse the principle of energy efficiency to all the households in the Philippines.