TransCo has over P8 billion in FIT-All fund

MANILA, Philippines — The National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) already has over P8 billion under the Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) fund after it wiped out its backlog to be paid to renewable energy (RE) developers earlier this year.

This means there is no need for higher FIT-All charges to consumers next year, a consumer group said.

TransCo no longer has a balance of FIT payments to renewable energy developers and the FIT-All fund has already reached P8.5 billion as of Dec. 5, TransCo compliance monitoring department manager Dinna Dizon said in a text message.

Because of the surplus in FIT-All collection, Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) president Victorio Dimagiba said that TransCo would not need any higher adjustments of the FIT Allowance for 2019.

Currently, TransCo has a pending applications with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the 2019 and 2020 FIT-All rate.

It had proposed a FIT-All rate of P0.2780 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for 2019 and P0.2278 per kwh for 2020.

So far, the power regulator has not yet decided on the applications, according to ERC spokesperson Floresinda Digal.

Because there is surplus in the FIT-All collection, the amount to be collected from consumers should be reduced, but a decision has to be issued by the ERC, Dizon said. “They will consider the latest fund balance when they make their decisions,” she said.

Earlier this year, the ERC allowed TransCo to collect P0.2226 centavos per kwh from all on-grid customers.

This was lower by P0.0706 centavos per kwh than the 29.32 centavos per kwh rate the TransCo proposed as FIT-All rate for 2018.

It also reflected a P0.0337 per kwh reduction from the previous P0.2563 per kwh charged to consumers.

The FIT-All is a uniform charge billed to all on-grid electricity consumers, reflected as a separate component in monthly electricity bills, to cover payments to renewable energy developers under the FIT system.

Distribution utilities (DUs), the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), and Retail Electricity Suppliers (RES) serve as collecting agents, and the proceeds go to the FIT-All Fund which is being administered by TransCo.

The FIT-All mechanism was established pursuant to the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to spur the development of emerging renewable power sources such as wind, solar, run-of-river hydro, and biomass facilities.