The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) says that more developers may consider the Feed In Tariff (FIT) 4 instead of the Green Energy Auction for run-of-river projects due to the adjustments this round.
ERC Chief Energy Regulation Officer for Renewable Energy Division Jayson Corpuz said, “As of May, there are 181.178 megawatts (MW) capacity with [a] certificate of endorsement from the Department of Energy (DOE). There is a remaining 68.822 MW for the 250 MW. And as you may recall, there’s an additional 100 MW for run-of-river hydro, which is making it 350 MW.”
However, Corpuz stressed that there is a projection from the Energy Department regarding the number of plants in terms of capacities by 2030, saying that there are remaining 39 MW out of the 350 MW underpinned.
He said that this was critical, as the initial FIT price was set at Php 5.9 per kilowatt hour (kWh), but under Section 2.10 of the FIT adjustment guidelines, it would have increased to Php 7.15 per kWh. In contrast, under GEAP, the price would remain fixed based on the terms of reference from the first two rounds.
“So we are concerned actually, I already informed this to DOE, that there will be maybe more take for the FIT 4 instead of the GEAP for run-of-river because of this FIT adjustment for this round,” said Corpuz.
In other developments, the ERC said that they are currently working on the price determination methodology for geothermal energy, wherein parameters will be presented including the range of values.
“This will be subjected under the process of ERC wherein the stakeholders will provide a comment on this rulemaking process, so this is ongoing,” said Corpuz.
The timeline provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) is 60 days after the effectivity of the department’s circular, which was on June 7. However, the energy department has been augmenting the circular with regard to pump storage, so the commission has been waiting for the final decision before proceeding with its rule-making process.
