USLS, Capitol ink agreements for Energy Development Road Map
To strategically plan out enough and sustainable power for the province, Provincial Governor Eugenio Jose V. Lacson and University of St. La Salle (USLS) President Br. Joaquin Severino S. Martinez, FSC, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on January 8 to institutionalize the Negros Occidental Energy Development Road Map in 2024.
“Learning from what happened in Panay, and to make sure that it will not happen in Negros Occidental. The road map is a strategy for power security in our province,” Lacson explained. The partnership also includes the institutionalization of a Renewable Energy (RE) Week. “The province is pushing for renewable energy,” Lacson added.
The road map will be the result of a Stakeholders’ Consultative Summit and Workshop and a concluding Power Summit to be held this year. The road map will also include a coordinating and implementing structure to be led by the Provincial Just Energy Transition (JET) Council, which was created by Executive Order No. 23-16.
The University of St. La Salle agreed to the partnership project as part of its commitment to “a shared mission of caring for peoples and the earth.”
This collaborative partnership between the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental and the University of St. La Salle is one of the key recommendations listed in the Negros Occidental Power Sector Assessment Study (NOPSAS) conducted in 2022 following Executive Order No. 21-52.
USLS Chancellor Minnie O. Chua and Vice Chancellor for Mission and Development Br. Mandy Dujunco, FSC, and Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II officially witnessed the MOA. Negros Initiative for Climate and Environment (NICE) Lead Convenor and youth leader Joshua Villalobos, REPower Negros Coordinator Junjun Mojica, and Dr. Stefannie Montaner, who are also NOPSAS members, witnessed the event. *
