DOE breaks ground for 1st luminaire test facility in the Philippines

9 Aug 2007

The 200 square meter Goniophotometer facility will be the first luminaire test facility to be set-up in Southeast Asian Region and most expensive yet under Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation Project (PELMATP). The Project is funded by the GEF through PELMATP. The said testing facility will enhance the capability of the existing testing laboratory of the DOE- Lighting and Appliance Testing Laboratory (DOE-LATL) to verify claimed performance of various types of luminaires being sold in the market.

To combat the proliferation of substandard lighting products, the DOE and Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS) have implemented the energy labeling program. Most of the packaging of lighting products, particularly the compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), have already a yellow label showing its specifications, power consumption, light output, efficacy and average life as declared by the manufacturers and as validated by the DOE-LATL and DTI-BPS. The yellow label is an assurance to the consumers that the quality, and safety of the products are of high standard performance backed by the Product Safety and Quality Marks (PS Mark) and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC Mark).

The Goniophotometer will be constructed for six months. Its construction will mark an important milestone in the lighting industry in the country and will place the DOE-LATL among the recognized laboratories not only in ASEAN, but also internationally .

PELMATP is a five year project led by the DOE with the support from the GEF and UNDP. The Project addresses the barriers to widespread utilization of energy efficient lighting systems in the Philippines. It covers energy efficient versions of linear fluorescent lamps (standard vs. the slim tubes), CFL, high intensity discharge lamps, ballasts (low loss electromagnetic and electronic), and luminaires. For more information on Palit-Ilaw Program, visit www.pelmatp.doe.gov.ph.

Forum on Efficient Lighting Programs held

9 Aug 2007

A Stakeholder Seminar on Efficient Lighting Programmes was held on June 29, 2007 at Asian Development Bank Headquarters in Manila. The forum was co-sponsored by Philippines Efficient Lighting Market Transformation Program (PELMATP), a 5-year US$15 million project implemented by the Department of Energy (DOE) with support from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Efficient Lighting Initiative (ELI) Quality Certification Institute.

It was participated in by local lighting industry stakeholders (both from the government and private sector as well as importers/suppliers) and a number of foreign delegates from the Asia-Pacific Region, as well as representatives from ADB and USAID ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program (USAID ECO-Asia CDCP). Director Raquel Huliganga of DOE discussed the overview of PELMATP and the Palit-Ilaw Program of the government, an activity under the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program (NEECP) of the government to shift to more energy efficient lighting systems (EELs). The forum raised the issues on regional cooperation in harmonizing CFL standards based on ELI, among others, and scaling up on CFL investments in the region. It also reaffirmed to the local stakeholders that efficient lighting activities is not only a domestic issue but also an international, and more appropriately, a global concern. Thus, the need for concerted efforts in the global fight to eradicate inefficient and low quality light bulbs in the market – CFL being 4 times more efficient than the incandescent bulbs.

PELMATP, which aggressively promotes “Palit-Ilaw” program of the DOE, addresses the barriers to widespread utilization of energy efficient lighting systems (EELs) in the Philippines. It covers energy efficient versions of linear fluorescent lamps (standard vs. the slim tubes), compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, ballasts (low loss electromagnetic and electronic), and luminaires.

The project will achieve its objectives by: updating of policies, standards/guidelines; institutional capacity building; consumer education and information dissemination; developing and implementing financing mechanisms; and, mitigating environmental impacts of the project. For more information on Palit-Ilaw Program, visit www.pelmatp.doe.gov.ph.

CFL Industry Meeting Held

9 Aug 2007

An Industry Meeting of Compact Florescent Lamp (CFL) suppliers, importers and distributors was held on June 22, 2007 at the Lighting and Appliance Testing Laboratory (LATL) of the Department of Energy (DOE) in Quezon City. The forum was sponsored by the LATL in cooperation with the Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation ProjectProgram PELMATP a 5-year US$15- million project implemented by the DOE with support from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The event was participated in by members and non-members of the Philippine Lighting Industry Association (PLIA). The event was organized to present to the lighting industry stakeholders the improved capability of the LATL considered as one of the leading lighting laboratories in the ASEAN

DOE Undersecretary Mariano S. Salazar challenged the stakeholders to critically assess the capabilities of the LATL He said further that only when the stakeholders engage the services of the lab it becomes credible. The LATL has recently passed all the requirements of the Philippine Accreditation Office for renewal of its ISO 17025 accreditation. The said accreditation recognizes the capability and competency of the LATL to carry out verifiable tests on the quality of CFLs in the market.

Undersecretary Salazar also expressed his vision of only one lighting industry organization, which will speak for the members , and will evolve as a strong DOE partner. Strengthening the testing capability of the LATL is one of the priority efforts of the DOE to successfully implement its Palit-Ilaw Program, a national campaign to replace inefficient and low quality lamps in the market, including CFLs which are four (4) times more efficient than incandescent bulbs.

PELMATP, which aggressively promotes “Palit-Ilaw” program of the DOE, addresses the barriers to widespread utilization of energy efficient lighting systems in the Philippines. It covers energy efficient versions of linear fluorescent lamps (standard vs. the slim tubes), CFL, high intensity discharge lamps, ballasts (low loss electromagnetic and electronic), and luminaires. For more information of the Palit-Ilaw Program, For more information on Palit-Ilaw Program, visit www.pelmatp.doe.gov.ph.

Government ENERCON Officers Conference (GEOC) Organized by PELMATP

7 Dec 2006

To curb the increasing fuel and electricity prices, the government wants to lead by example to the country by having government agencies champions of energy efficiency. Through the DOE-UNDP-GEF Philippine Efficient Lighting market Transformation Project (PELMATP) the Government ENERCON Officers Conference (GEOC) was held at the DOE-Audio Visual Room (AVR) on 5 December 2006.

The event was attended by energy efficiency and conservation officers or ENERCON Officers from different government agencies. DOE Assistant Secretary Matanog M. Mapandi delivered the keynote speech and called for support to the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP) which aims to reduce government energy consumption by 10% by implementing energy efficiency and conservation measures in their offices and projects.

Dir. Mario Marasigan of the Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB-DOE) tackled further on GEMP, the energy audits being conducted by the DOE and the recommendations to save more on energy like air-condition operations management, elevator floor bypasses, use of Coco Methyl Esther (CME) blended diesel, and other energy conservation tips. He also attended to questions on the use alternative energy sources and biofuels.

Mr. Jess C. Anunciacion of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Division (EECD-DOE) then discussed the grading system being followed on energy audits. Participants were given a breakdown of the audit scoring sheet informing them on the value given to each energy conservation initiative.

The Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation Project (PELMATP) was then presented by Dir. Raquel S. Huliganga, Project Director of PELMATP and Director of Energy Research and Testing Laboratory Services (ERTLS-DOE). The five year project that addresses the barriers to the widespread use of energy efficient lighting systems (EELs) spearheaded by the Department of Energy (DOE) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

PELMATP has identified that the fastest way to achieve savings on electricity was by using EELs being it easy to retrofit/implement, the mostly used appliance, and has the fastest return on investment; Furthermore, energy efficient lighting helps in protecting the environment due to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the same time promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Magandang Umaga Pilipinas-ABS-CBN, July 19, 2006, 7 AM

19 July 2006

On July 19, 2006, 7:00 AM, DOE-LATL with the Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation Project (PELMATP) was featured in Ms. Winnie Cordero's Segment with Director Raquel S. Huliganga and Ms. Mirna Campanano as special guests. The Palit-Ilaw Program was highlighted including the change of Incandescent Bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs). Ms. Winnie Cordero included the LATL facilities specifically the CFLs Testing and Integrating Sphere that is being enhanced under the DOE-UNDP/GEF PELMATP. The Integrating Sphere measures the light output and power consumption in Watts of the CFLs and IB. Clearly, CFLs are 80% more efficient than Incandescent bulbs(IBs).

Dir. Huliganga highlighted the Palit-Ilaw Program of NEECP that is being supported by PELMATP in Quezon City Hall, Dagonoy Market in Manila, and Eusebio High School of Pasig. She added that Gawad Kalinga, recently signed a Memorandum agreement for the GK777 Movement to use CFLs in their building specifications for the 700,000 homes, in 7,000 communities in 7 years.

We would like to acknowledge the presence of all DOE LATL Team and Engr. Noel N. Verdote, the Project Manager of PELMATP together with the PELMATP Team in making this successful MUP Event.