The one-day Energy Investment Forum is expected to be participated in by representatives from the business sector, generation companies, private distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, potential investors, government agencies, as well as financial institutions and donor agencies to keep abreast on the different requirements and processes involved in an energy project. It will focus on conventional power and renewable energy projects.

In a statement, the DOE head office said “the forum intends to present to stakeholders in the Mindanao region the renewable energy development procedures as well as updates in power projects to address the present and future power supply needs of the region".

Its attached agencies and other government agencies will be present to provide discussion and clarification on the different issues, challenges, and opportunities in the energy sector today especially the concerns investors are facing in pursuing their power projects.

The event will also serve as a venue for networking and focused group discussion among the stakeholders and other concerned agencies.

It will be recalled that the first-ever Mindanao Power Summit was held last April 13 in the city where President Benigno Aquino III, as the guest speaker, emphasized that if Mindanao could no longer rely on hydro-power to provide for the base load, there was indeed a need for a more diverse mix of energy sources.

Mindanao’s available capacity is pegged at 1,280 megawatts (MW) while its peak demand reaches 1,300 MW. Though the gap is only 20MW, the problem balloons when a power plant shuts down due to low water level which is not enough to run it and supply the energy it is capable of producing. (PNA)

LAP/JGMM/ldp/utb