Energy

     Energy, whenever we hear it we think of alot of things. From electricity to heat, solar, microwave, and chemical. We associate this word to these things. Energy powers our modern way of life. Without it, we would be living in a dark and lonely place. Energy is what keeps us alive, our body processes energy through food so that we would function normally and not die. Electricity, which is a form of energy, is widely used in the world and is what powers everything we use today.

In the Philippines, we get our electricity from fossil fuel power plants, geothermal plants, and hydroelectric plants. We're one of the countries that hasn't switched to nuclear yet due to the fact that there are numerous fault lines in our country. Our electricity however is very expensive. We are ranked 9th out of 44 countries that were surveyed. This is due to the fact that there is a monopoly in power distribution held by Meralco. Our rates are dictated by one company alone. It sucks because you hear about other places wherein the electricity is charged at a fixed rate and not per kwh like what we have here. It's also saddening to hear about some places wherein they harness the power of the tides to generate clean electricity like in Sweden. It's also saddening to know that our hydroelectric plants are not as powerful as they should be and not generating enough to help lower the usage of fossil fuel plants. Nuclear power was proposed before, but the project was discontinued because it was allegedly situated on top of a fault line and thus has a huge potential for danger.

What energy source should we properly tap so that our energy needs will be met properly? Fossil fuels are running out and as we know, it is not a renewable energy source. Our country is waterlocked, meaning we are surrounded by water all over, this would make an ideal location for tidal power, however I found out that it is very very expensive. Solar power might be good, but the space required to generate enough electricity to satisfy the energy needs of Makati for example would just be too great, and space is not something that we have a lot of considering how congested our major cities are.

What I think we should do is to work on what we have existing and maximize its potential. We can use the latest technology for geothermal and hydroelectric plants to have maximum efficiency and potential. We should tap solar plants to power smaller towns so that the electricity generated by the fossil fuel plants are more concentrated on the major cities. We should also find ways to maximize efficiency in our power plants so that the power companies can cut their prices. We should also look into green technology so that we can use renewable sources of energy more efficiently.

Finding better energy sources and maximizing output while minimizing cost is what is needed for our country to have a much cheaper energy cost. We really should find cheaper sources of energy because some people really can't pay for it at the current rates we have.