China-led power project in Benguet gets priority status

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) has granted certificates of energy project of national significance (CEPNS) to the 500-megawatt (MW) Kibungan Badeo pumped storage project in Benguet.

The project, under COHECO Badeo Corp., is currently in the pre-development stage.  It will be entitled to all the rights and privileges under Executive Order (EO) 30.

It was among the six agreements signed between Guangxi state-owned firms and local enterprises in May 2017 amid warming relations between the Philippines and China.

COHECO Badeo signed a deal with China Energy Engineering Group Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Co. Ltd., one of China’s biggest integrated construction enterprises, for the 500-MW pumped storage hydropower project costing $550 million.

A year after the signing, the project secured the approval from indigenous people (IP) of the Kibungan ancestral domain through the Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) process conducted by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

As of Oct. 24, the DOE received a total of 309 applications to be declared as EPNS. Of the total, 254 applications were received, while 55 were notified of non-compliance as to form and/or documentary requirements.

The other projects that were issued CEPNS were the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ P52 billion Mindanao-Visayas interconnection project, Aragorn Power and Energy Corp.’s geothermal service contract located in Kalinga province, Island Wind Energy Corp.’s 151.2-MW  Talim Wind power project in Talim Island, Binangonan and Cardona, Rizal; Meralco Powergen Corp.’s 2x600-MW coal-fired power plant in Atimonan, Quezon and two coal exploration projects of PNOC Exploration Corp. in Mindanao.

The DOE has declined seven energy projects, while 240 application are still under evaluation.

The CEPNS is intended to establish a simplified approval process and harmonize the relevant rules and regulations of all government agencies involved in the permitting process.

However, the certificates are “not an assurance or an automatic guarantee of favorable action by the permitting agencies, but a requirement from them to immediately act on the applications for permits/licenses within the prescribed periods under prevailing laws.”

Signed by President Duterte in June 2017, EO 30 provides that government agencies concerned with energy projects should presume other agencies were able to act upon and issue their respective permits within a 30-day period.

If not acted upon five days after the lapse of 30 days, these projects are deemed approved.

To qualify under EO 30,  power generation and transmission projects are required to have a capital cost of P3.5 billion, significant contribution to the country’s economic development and a significant consequential economic impact, among others.