ADB: Rebound needs energy
At some point we will shift from emergency response into recovery mode, providing a rare opportunity for global economic retooling
The coronavirus pandemic had reinforced the need for reliable energy services to support healthcare with clean, renewable power being a good place to start, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has hit the reset button on the global economy, the ADB noted in a report during the multilateral agency’s 53rd Annual Meeting that ended Friday.
The Department of Energy (DoE), in response, has spelled out measures in revitalizing the power industry such as the expansion of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to Mindanao.
With regard to the implementation of retail competition and open access, the DoE said it promulgated policies which provide for the voluntary registration of WESM participants.
Electricity pricing, has been on the downtrend as the country’s average electricity rate is now around P8.71 per kilowatthour (kwh).
“For Luzon grid, as of June 2019, the rate was around P9.28 per kWh compared in March 2019 at P8.66 per kWh. For Visayas, it increased by six centavos per kwh while in Mindanao, there was a decrease by 43 centavos/ kWh,” according to the DoE.
Prep for recovery mode
“At some point we will shift from emergency response into recovery mode, providing a rare opportunity for global economic retooling — an opportunity largely missed after the 2008 financial crisis. Healthcare is the obvious place to start. To function properly, it needs reliable and affordable energy,” the ADB paper noted.
Renewable energy resources are available almost everywhere in the form of biomass, geothermal, hydro, solar and wind.
It added the pandemic reinforces the need for reliable energy services to support “24/7” healthcare.
Among the topics discussed during the annual event was stable electricity supply which it noted as essential for nearly every aspect of modern healthcare, from vaccine refrigeration, to lighting, communication, medical appliances, clean water supplies, sanitation, water heating and telecommunications (now more important than ever to support tele-medicine).
The traditional supply-side approach to energy sector development has worked well for most consumers. But there are still about 1 billion people globally without access to reliable electricity supply, other commercial energy services, clean water and sanitation, ADB noted.
It added electricity regulators generally require that consumers be categorized effectively as essential and non-essential customers, with health care facilities considered “essential.” However, poorer consumers
— which can include health clinics and other facilities in developing countries
— often “fall through the cracks” due to unreliable electricity services.
The rising availability and improving affordability of clean energy provides space for a new approach to healthcare that will serve these neglected communities, the multilateral agency indicated.
Among the topics discussed during the annual event was stable electricity supply which it noted as essential for nearly every aspect of modern healthcare, from vaccine refrigeration, to lighting, communication, medical appliances, clean water supplies, sanitation, water heating and telecommunications. Energy priorities
According to the document, “the priorities should be to provide energy for cooking, heating, transport and productive activities essential to human health; electricity for improved health service delivery and to achieve universal health coverage; and to ensure power supplies which enable access to new medical technologies.”
Renewable energy resources are available almost everywhere in the form of biomass, geothermal, hydro, solar and wind. Solar and wind have demonstrated the best manufacturing economies of scale, and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are more downward scalable than wind. Solar energy can be combined with energy storage and other energy resources to provide energy security for even the most remote communities.
The paper explained that turn vision into reality, “we need business models which prioritize health care services with manufacturing economies of scale.”
It cited as an example, a “clinic in a box” powered by a “grid in a box” that can provide basic services such as preventive check-ups, quick response (first aid), vaccinations, kit-based testing for specific diseases, and telemedicine.