In what appears to be a groundswell of support from among stakeholders in the energy sector, the national umbrella organization of renewable energy associations is the latest group that has openly endorsed the re-election bid of Senator Win Gatchalian.
The Developers of Renewable Energy for AdvanceMent Inc. (DREAM), an alliance of all renewable energy developers’ associations in the country, unanimously approved support to the candidacy of Gatchalian following a meeting last February 16.
“Senator Win has displayed the virtues of a good Senator: a man of eloquence who studies the energy issues in-depth and crafts laws that account for every stakeholder’s position. He has recognized the critical contribution of renewables in the Philippine economy,” DREAM president Atty. Jay Layug Jr. said in a signed statement.
Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Energy Committee, filed a bill to encourage more investments in the RE industry by enhancing the implementation of the net-metering program. This will remove the 100-kilowatt cap to allow large electricity consumers such as commercial establishments, industrial buildings, and government offices to avail of the net metering program under Republic Act No. 9513, otherwise known as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.
Gatchalian filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the government’s energy transition plan following the ban of new coal power plants to develop and ensure equitable, secure and sustainable shift to cleaner energy.
The senator also helped push for the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) as the country moves toward the promotion of sustainable transportation under the new normal. He is the principal author and sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1382 or the proposed Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act which was approved on 3rd reading by the Senate on May 31, 2021 and ratified by the Bicameral Conference Committee on December 16, 2021.
The latest endorsement received by Gatchalian came two weeks after the organization of member-consumers of electric cooperatives in the country, the 13.5 million strong National Center of Electric Cooperatives Consumers Inc. (NCECCO), rallied behind the senator’s re-election in the coming May 9 national and local poll exercise.
In a resolution approved last February 1, NCECCO likewise cited Gatchalian’s track record in the Senate and his contributions in the passage of several key measures aimed at fostering a competitive, investor-friendly, and red-tape free environment in the energy sector and the country’s economy in general.
