Joab Jorge and his mother Ces operate Dream Latte Cafe, a specialty coffee shop and small-batch roastery, from their ancestral home in Pilar, Bataan province, about 180 kilometers northwest of Manila. Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in February, an energy crisis has led to soaring electricity costs and frequent blackouts, forcing the cafe to raise prices by 10% to cover increased expenses for goods and imported coffee beans.

The frequent power outages have severely impacted their business, prompting Jorge and Ces to install a hybrid solar power system at their home, where they also roast coffee beans and bake pastries. Ces described the outages as “bad for business” because they could shut the cafe for hours, asking, “Who’s going to come to you then?”

Their shift to solar power reflects a broader trend among Filipinos seeking to mitigate the effects of rising energy costs, which have escalated further following the US-Iran conflict.

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