The Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Merino Tafur said today that Peru has the great challenge of using massively natural gas that it owns and that his administration has proposed a number of mechanisms that allow this process taking into account “justice and social inclusion”. The MEM minister made this approach during the inauguration of the II Regional Symposium on Energy Efficiency, which includes representatives from South America government officials and private sector.

Merino stated that our country has experienced for several years a sustained economic growth, but “this development will not help much if you do not reach to the poorest.”
“Peru is experiencing a tipping point, because although it has always been a natural resource producer, now there is a new way of exploiting these resources, prioritizing water, social inclusion, while respecting contracts and investors” he said. The growth, he said, presents to the country challenges such as efficient use of energy and supply with reliable energy to the users. “We are working on generating cleaner energy. Today, natural gas accounts for nearly 50 percent of the power generated in the country. We also promote of wind and solar generation projects” he said.

About the mass production of gas that the Peruvian government is driving, the Minister recalled the creation of the Energy Social Inclusion Fund (FISE), which allows first access to cheap gas to poorest populations and the distribution of kits for LPG stoves and the installation of solar panels to power Andean populations. “We know we have a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure a cleaner country for our children. Without energy there is no virtuous circle of development,” he said.

During the opening ceremony, the minister counselor of the U.S. Embassy in Peru, Michael Fitzpatrick, congratulated the Peruvian government on behalf of his government for its recent actions concerning energy efficiency. “We welcome the decision of Peru to take leadership on this issue. A clear sign of this is the establishment this year of the Directorate General for Energy Efficiency in the Ministry of Energy and Mines,” he said.

For his part, the representative of the Organization of American States (OAS) to Peru, David Morris, also welcomed MEM’s efforts in the use of sustainable energy and their work on climate change mitigation.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines of Peru and the OAS, through its Department of Sustainable Development, organized this symposium held today and tomorrow at the Sonesta Hotel in San Isidro. The symposium, sponsored by the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), aims to identify and discuss specific activities that promote energy efficiency at national and regional level in the Americas.

The event will establish a Working Plan on Regional Cooperation in Energy Efficiency containing specific actions identified by representatives of governments and aimed at promoting greater energy efficiency in the continent.

Translated by the ECPA Clearinghouse team.

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