DOE to issue rules for green tariffs, auction

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is coming out with rules and programs for the implementation of a green energy tariff and rules for green energy auction to spur investments in the new renewable energy (RE) sector in the country.

The DOE is seeking comments for its draft circular titled “Promulgating the Rules and Guidelines Governing the Green Energy Tariff Program (GETP) in the Philippines.”

Under the proposed rules, the DOE said the GETP would have two components: the green energy tariff and the green energy auction.

The green energy tariff would “provide price signals on the commercial value of electricity generated from RE facilities,” which would be the basis of a benchmark rate for RE in the country.

Meanwhile, the green energy auction would facilitate supply contracting by qualified suppliers with eligible customers under a competitive process.

The agency said this would set the framework to facilitate the compliance of distribution utilities, retail electricity suppliers (RES), RE suppliers, and end users with the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS).

RPS mandates power industry players to produce and source a certain percentage of electricity from RE sources such as biomass, waste-to-energy technology, wind energy, solar energy, run-of-river hydroelectric power systems, impounding hydroelectric power systems, ocean energy, and geothermal energy.

The RPS On-Grid and Off-Grid guidelines will be enforced by the DOE this year.

The DOE said the proposed green energy rules would also support the development and increase access to financing of new RE projects under the Open and Competitive Selection Process program of the agency.

The proposed rules follows last year’s announcement by DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi of the agency’s plan to bid out 2,000 megawatts (MW) of RE capacity to encourage developers to put up RE projects and fast-track the development of cleaner power generation.

Cusi had directed National Renewable Energy Board (NREB), the advisory body tasked with the effective implementation of RE projects in the country, to review and make a recommendation on the concept of giving an allocation of 2,000 MW and green energy rate for RE development.

Assisted by NREB, the DOE is updating the country’s RE targets as capacity fell short from goals set 10 years after the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 was enacted.

Under the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) 2011-2030, the DOE is targeting to triple the existing renewable capacity of 5,438 MW in 2010 to 15,304 MW by 2030.

Meanwhile, the government’s long–term renewable energy roadmap aims RE installed capacity to 20,000 MW by 2040.

However, the capacity addition was slow and only 7,000 MW were added until 2017, DOE-Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) director Mylene Capongcol said earlier.