CDO LGU revisits local energy plan, reaffirms commitments on energy tra

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY– The City Government of Cagayan de Oro, together with the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), took a significant step toward crafting the city’s Renewable Energy (RE) Plan and Roadmap and ensured a whole-of-system, multistakeholder approach to energy planning in a workshop held from May 5 to 7, 2026.

The three-day workshop reviewed and validated the 2024 Draft Local Energy Plan through an Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) approach. The process supported the step-by-step review of plans, assessment of the local energy stream, identification of gaps, prioritization of interventions, and exploring potential RE investments and financing opportunities.

“As a growing and dynamic city, we recognize that our future depends on how we respond to the challenges of energy security, climate change, and sustainable development,” noted Cagayan De Oro City Mayor Hon. Rolando “Klarex” Uy in his opening remarks. “Through this initiative, we take a decisive step toward a cleaner, more resilient, and more inclusive energy future.”

This urgency is underscored by the city’s strong RE potential. Cagayan de Oro is strategically located near key RE sources, including the planned 40 MW San Isidro run-of-river hydropower plant and the proposed rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydropower Complex (APHC), which serves as Mindanao’s largest RE source with a 1,000 MW installed capacity. The city also has strong solar energy prospects, particularly in its dense downtown coastal areas that receive high global horizontal irradiance (GHI), making them ideal for rooftop solar installations.

Despite this, Northern Mindanao continues to face high electricity costs, highlighting the urgent need to shift to cleaner and cheaper energy sources as Mindanao moves towards its target of a 50:50 RE mix by 2030.

The workshop brought together executive leaders, legislative representatives, and department heads and technical staff from planning, engineering, finance, and disaster risk management offices to ensure a technically sound, legally robust, and fiscally viable energy plan and roadmap. Key external stakeholders were also engaged, including electric cooperatives and distribution utilities, academe, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector.

“As the local government unit, you should lead your community’s energy resilience. And with your [local energy] plan, we will be able to ensure that even with increasing fuel prices, we still have indigenous resources, so we don’t need imported fuel because we have local supply,” said the Department of Energy’s Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol, reaffirming the government agency’s support for locally-driven initiatives and acknowledging the importance of a bottom-up, people-centered approach in energy planning.

Additionally, representatives from Iloilo Province and Butuan City shared their experiences and lessons in crafting their own Renewable Energy Plans, and how they can be considered for Cagayan de Oro’s planning. Iloilo Province Senior Board Member Hon. Rolando B. Distura shared how they formulated and implemented their local Renewable Energy Plan Roadmap.

On the last day of the workshop, discussions focused on strengthening the financial and policy mechanisms needed to accelerate the RE development in the city. Representatives from local financial institutions such as the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) presented financing programs and requirements that can support potential renewable energy development and projects from the local government unit.

Atty. Abelardo Kris Guanzon, ICSC’s Legal Advisor on Energy, also explored the development of the Renewable Energy Incentive Ordinance that can complement the current local policies in the city and improve investment confidence, as well as project bankability. Meanwhile, ICSC’s Senior Advisor on Energy Literacy and Energy Democracy, Atty. Monalisa Dimalanta, highlighted different financing strategies and investment mechanisms for the long-term sustainability of the energy roadmap.

This workshop marks the first phase of Cagayan de Oro’s scoping process for its Renewable Energy Plan, with succeeding phases aimed at strengthening the TWG’s coordination and improving the roadmap.

ICSC is set to continue its series of local energy planning sessions across the country, with the Provincial Government of Eastern Samar and the Municipal Government of Paranas, Samar, to be conducted within the month of May.