Philippines remains heavily dependent on coal power plants, says IEA

February 18, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the government’s ban on new coal-fired power plants, the Philippines remains heavily dependent on coal to meet its growing energy demand, according to the the International Energy Agency.

The IEA said in its latest electricity report that coal accounted for around 62 percent of the country’s power generation mix in 2024.

While there is a strong push to roll out renewables, the IEA noted that coal’s share in the energy mix is projected to only “marginally decrease” to 60 percent by 2027.

“Overall, the growth of coal generation moderates to four percent in 2025-2027, down from seven percent in 2018-2024,” it said.

Coal plants are typically used as a source of baseload power due to their capacity to operate continuously and provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity.

In 2020, the Department of Energy (DOE) implemented a coal moratorium, which barred the processing of applications for Greenfield coal facilities.

But the agency has clarified that the policy is not a “total ban” as it does not cover existing and operational coal power plants or those that are already committed.

With this, the IEA expects the effects of the coal policy to become only evident in the medium to long term.

Further, the IEA said the country’s electricity demand grew by five percent last year, with average annual growth of over five percent expected between 2025 and 2027.

“The increase in demand is broadly in line with GDP (gross domestic product) growth expectations, with economic activity anticipated to be a key driver of electricity consumption over the forecasting period,” it said.

Against this backdrop, gas-fired power generation is forecast to retain its current share of 14 percent in the energy mix from 2025 to 2027.

Renewable energy, on the other hand, is likely to increase its share to 24 percent by 2027 from last year’s 22 percent.

“Renewables are expected to meet more than one-third of additional electricity demand growth over the next three years,” the IEA said.