BWorld 873, Introducing the OIEA and its energy parameters

Introducing the OIEA and its energy parameters

June 2, 2026 | 12:02 am

My Cup Of Liberty

By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.

https://bworldonline.com/opinion/2026/06/02/753635/introducing-the-oiea-and-its-energy-parameters/

 

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Last Thursday I introduced an informal concept I called the “Oplas Index of Energy Abundance” (OIEA, pronounced like “Oh Yeah”) in my other column in the Philippine Star, “Transition from energy poverty to energy abundance and the OIEA” (May 28).

 

Then a friend Ben Kritz, who writes a thrice weekly column in the Manila Times, mentioned and supported it last Sunday in his column with a piece called “A better goal for energy expansion.”

 

The goal of this exercise — deriving an index between 1-10 and later ranking countries — is to help quantify countries’ level of energy poverty or energy abundance so that appropriate policy measures can be instituted.

 

The main parameters in this initial study are the following: 1.) Electricity generation in kilowatt-hours (kWh) per capita in 2024, the latest comparative data available; 2.) Total energy supply in gigajoules (GJ) per capita in 2024; 3.) Average annual growth in kWh per capita from 2004-2024; and, 4.) Average annual growth in GJ per capita.

 

I put a weight of 30% each in (1) and (2) as they represent the existing energy abundance or energy poverty, then I put a weight of 20% each in (3) and (4) as they represent a continued effort to expand — or contract — the energy supply, for a total of 100%. So, if a country or economy gets a perfect score in all four parameters, its overall index is 10.0.

 

 

For this introduction of the concept, I limited the countries to those in the Asia-Pacific region only, and the numbers in per capita in 2024. Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and Singapore have huge power generation, of 9,000 or more kWh per capita, or nine to 12 times larger than the power generation of the Philippines. When it comes to total energy supply — electricity production plus liquid fuels in transportation plus gas fuels in cooking, etc. — the largest are Singapore, South Korea, and Australia (see Table 1).

 

From those numbers in Table 1, I computed the score, to be multiplied by assigned weight to derive the index per parameter.

 

1.) Deriving the score in generation kWh per capita, weight 30%: a.) above 9,000 – 10.0; b.) 8,000 to 9,000 – 9.0; c.) 7,000 to 7,999 – 8.0; d.) 6,000 to 6,999 – 7.0; e.) 5,000 to 5,999 – 6.0; f.) 4,000 to 4,999 – 5.0; g.) 3,000 to 3,999 – 4.0; h.) 2,000 to 2,999 – 3.0; i.) 1,000 to 1,999 – 2.0; j.) below 1,000 – 1.0.

 

2.) Deriving the score in growth 2004-2024 of kWh per capita, weight 20%: a.) 8% and up – 10.0; b.) 7-8% – 9.0, c.) 6-7% – 8.0; d.) 5-6% – 7.0; e.) 4-5% – 6.0; f.) 3-4% – 5.0; g.) 2-3% – 4.0; h.) 1-2% – 3.0; i.) 0 to 1% – 2.0; j.) below 0 – 1.0.

 

3.) Deriving the score in Energy supply in GJ per capita, weight 30%: a.) 601 and up – 10.0; b.) 531 to 600 – 9.0; c.) 461 to 530 – 8.0; d.) 391 to 460 – 7.0; e.) 321 to 390 – 6.0; f.) 251 to 320 – 5.0; g.) 181 to 250 – 4.0; h.) 111 to 180 – 3.0; i.) 41 to 110 – 2.0; j.) below 40 – 1.0.

 

4) Deriving the score in Growth 2004-2024 in GJ per capita, weight 20%: a.) 8% and up – 10.0; b.) 7-8% – 9.0; c.) 6-7% – 8.0; d.) 5-6% – 7.0; e.) 4-5% – 6.0; f.) 3-4% – 5.0; g.) 2-3% – 4.0; h.) 1-2% – 3.0; i) 0 to 1% – 2.0; j.) below 0 – 1.0.

 

The results — the respective score, average growth in kWh and GJ per capita, and corresponding index — can be seen in Table 2.

 

I would consider the index numbers to represent those with:

 

a.) Energy subsistence – 2.5 and below

 

b.) Energy poverty – 2.6 to 4.0

 

c.) Energy affluence – 4.1 to 6.0

 

d.) Energy abundance – 6.1 and above

 

The Philippines’ would be in energy poverty. We should not wallow in this state for long.

 

Again, this is still a preliminary concept and measurement of OIEA. I hope to revise and expand the parameters and methodology. I also encourage other researchers to build different, better models and measurements. Ultimately, we should have only one goal — to attain energy abundance that can lead to economic and material wealth for the Philippines and other societies.