The 44th Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME) and its Associated Meetings were convened virtually from 15–18 June 2026 under the Chairmanship of the Department of Energy of the Republic of the Philippines. The Meetings brought together Senior Officials from all ASEAN Member States (AMS), representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), Chairs of the ASEAN Energy Sub-Sectoral Networks (SSNs), Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities (HAPUA), ASEAN Energy Regulators’ Network (AERN), ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE), Dialogue Partners, international organisations, and development partners.
The Meetings reviewed the progress of regional energy cooperation and the implementation of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026–2030. Senior Officials reaffirmed the importance of aligning APAEC with the ASEAN 2045 Vision, the ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026–2030, and ASEAN sustainability priorities, while accelerating the implementation of the 2026 Priority Energy Deliverables (PEDs), Key Milestones, and the 9th ASEAN Energy Outlook. The Meetings also underscored the need to advance regional energy integration and security through the timely completion of national processes for the Enhanced ASEAN Power Grid (APG) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the development of APG Task Force Work Plans and submarine power cable development frameworks, and the operationalisation of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Petroleum Security (APSA).
The Meetings included consultations with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners through the 31st East Asia Summit Energy Cooperation Task Force (EAS ECTF), the 25th SOME+3 Energy Policy Governing Group (EPGG), the 27th SOME–METI, the 17th SOME–Russia, the 17th SOME–U.S., the 17th SOME–IEA and 8th SOME–IRENA, the 4th ASEAN–MDB Energy Dialogue, and the 4th ASEAN–EU Energy Dialogue, as well as a Special ASEAN Centre for Energy Governing Council Meeting. The Meetings further welcomed the continued support of Dialogue Partners and development partners and tasked relevant bodies to undertake follow-up actions in preparation for the 44th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) in September 2026.