Preparations for renewable energy tariff to resume: ERC

Business World Online
Posted on February 12, 2012 09:37:09 PM


MOVES TO prepare for a scheme that will guarantee returns to investors in renewable energy projects will resume this month after facing a legal challenge, an official said, a development seen to give the needed boost to the program.


"The commission will resume hearings for the feed-in tariff this February. We have not received any injunction from the Court of Appeals so we continue with the proceedings," Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Executive Director Francis Saturnino C. Juan said in a telephone interview.


Last year, the Foundation for Economic Freedom filed a petition to temporarily halt proceedings for the so-called feed-in tariff over claims that the ERC lacked rules for the scheme.


The ERC "committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in refusing to dismiss the NREB (National Renewable Energy Board) petition due to prematurity as there were no renewable energy portfolio standards rules yet… and refusing to dismiss the petition due to its failure to find that the weekly publication of its notice of hearing was not actually complied with," the group said.


The NREB was created under the Renewable Energy Act (Republic Act 9513) to promote, use, development and commercialization of renewable energy sources.


Feed-in tariff is a guaranteed payment given to renewable energy investors through a universal charge. The Energy department has earlier targeted to implement the scheme -- already delayed for close to three years -- this year.


Mr. Juan said petitions of other groups to amend the feed-in tariff will also be heard during the hearings.


Aboitiz-led Visayan Electric Co. (VECO) last month filed a petition with the ERC that sought to change the rules to determine feed-in tariff.


"VECO’s petition to amend the feed-in tariff rules will be subjected to public hearings where all interested parties will have the chance to be heard then," said Mr. Juan.


Proposed feed-in tariff rates are P7 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for biomass, P6.15/kWh for run-of-river hydroelectricity, P10.37/kWh for wind power, P17.65/kWh for ocean technology and P17.95/kWh for solar power.


It is estimated to have an impact of around P0.12/kWh in the electricity bills of consumers.


Renewable energy investors have maintained that the feed-in tariff need to be approved before decisions can be made on projects. -- E. N. J. David