A consumer group is calling on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to revert the feed-in-tariff (FIT) allowance of the National Transmission Corporation (Transco) for 2016 from Php. 0.1830 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to Php. 0.1025 per kWh.
In a petition filed by Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) president Victorio Mario Dimagiba said that the ERC decision to raise Transco’s 2016 FIT allowance from Php. 0.1025 per kWh to Php. 0.1830 per kWh should be considered “null and void” for lack of jurisdiction.
“[The] petitioner respectfully prays that the Commission render null and void its Decision in the instant Application and revert the FIT Allowance of TRANSCO for 2016 in the amount of ₱0.1025/kwh instead of the approved ₱0.1830/kwh and order an immediate rollback of FIT Allowance in the amount of ₱0.0805/kwh for the benefit of all on -grid electricity consumers retroactive to January 2016,” the petition read.
According to the petition filed by LKI, Transco applied for its 2016 FIT allowance with a rate of P0.1025 per kWh.
The application was given a provisional authority on February 16, 2016, at a rate of Php. 0.1240 per kWh.
But in a May 9, 2017, decision, the ERC granted an additional P0.0590 per kWh in the Transco FIT allowance for 2016. This brings the company’s FIT allowance for 2016 to P0.1830 per kWh.
“The records show that there was no amendment and no republication of the Application in the variance between the 2016 Feed-in-Tariff Allowance rate approved by the Commission in May 2017 and the rate applied for by Transco;” the petition stated.
LKI added that the ERC should follow due process as stated in ERC Case No. 2016-192 RC released on the application of Transco for its 2017 FOT allowance.
“The Commission held ‘that any substantial amendment of the application would require compliance with the notice and publication requirements of the Commission, in accordance with the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure of due process,’” LKI quoted the ERC case in its petition.
According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the FIT is a system set by the government that will encourage renewable energy (RE) developments and investments in the country.