Five local government units in Eastern Visayas have formally committed to advance the energy transition in their localities by developing local energy plans and enacting renewable energy (RE) ordinances, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) said Tuesday.

The ICSC said mayors of Alangalang in Leyte; Paranas and Marabut in Samar; and Guiuan, Oras, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar signed an agreement on Feb. 20 to implement a participatory local energy planning process.

“Each local government unit (LGU) forged partnerships with ICSC to implement a participatory local energy planning process. This aims to translate community needs and local development priorities into actionable clean energy transition plans, supported by enabling local policies,” ICSC Executive Director Angelo Kairos dela Cruz said in a statement.

The ICSC said the commitment is crucial for Eastern Visayas as the region experiences power shortages affecting health facilities, communications networks, and educational services.

Despite hosting renewable energy plants such as solar and geothermal, the region has been heavily dependent on coal-fired power plants, leading to some of the highest electricity rates in the Philippines —reaching PHP20.96 per kilowatt hour in 2022, according to the NGO.

Under the signed memorandum of understanding, each LGU pledged to align local actions with national energy mechanisms and policies, including the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act and the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Department of Energy (DILG-DOE) Joint Memorandum Circular on facilitating energy projects.

ICSC committed to providing technical assistance and capacity-building support to help LGUs conduct multi-stakeholder local energy planning, develop clean energy transition plans, craft RE ordinances, and support investment mobilization.

“Every signature, decision, and step that we take will serve as a symbol of our vision and collective action toward achieving a better and more resilient future for Eastern Visayas,” dela Cruz added.

The organization also pledged to support priority actions such as promoting rooftop solar adoption, developing RE roadmaps for sustainable tourism, scaling community RE initiatives, and conducting awareness campaigns to encourage RE uptake. (PNA)