THE Department of Energy (DOE) should focus on the development of power generation projects in implementing the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) system to help ensure steady supply and reduce electricity costs in the country, according to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
“Let us focus first on generation projects because sufficient electricity supply is important. We need to perfect that first before expanding into the other sectors. The aspiration is that the system should process applications. But admittedly, it is complicated as you expand,” said
Gatchalian, vice chair of the Senate committee on energy, in a statement yesterday.
Gatchalian said P263 million has been allocated for EVOSS since 2019 with an additional P36 million requested budget for 2025.
“We have allocated a sizable amount for EVOSS over the years and we need to see its full potential being realized with that amount, so that it will not be a bottomless pit, so to speak,” Gatchalian said.
Once fully implemented, EVOSS is expected to reduce processing time of permits for energy projects by around 269 days, bringing average processing time to only 85 days depending on the location and type of generation facility.
Gatchalian said agencies yet to incorporate their processes into the system include the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the National Water Regulatory Board.
The law that created EVOSS was signed in March 2019 to streamline the permitting process for developing energy projects in the country which is applicable to all new power generation, transmission and distribution projects in the country and integrate permits required by various line agencies and local government units.
