Friday, May 29, 2015

Militants join call for Aboitiz firm to pay P235M fine

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
5:38 AM | Friday, May 29th, 2015

Militant lawmakers on Thursday joined the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.’s (PEMC) bid to compel an Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary to pay P234.9 million in fines for its role in the record P4.16-kilowatt per hour power hike in December 2013, an offshoot of the monthlong shutdown of the Malampaya natural gas facilities that year.

In an intervention filed on Thursday, Bayan Muna party-list members Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate asked the Court of Appeals to overturn the Pasig Regional Trial Court’s resolution granting Therma Mobile Inc. (TMO) a writ of preliminary injunction stopping PEMC from imposing fines for the 2013 power hike.

PEMC, a government-created corporation where private sector representatives sit as members, runs the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the country’s power trading floor.

The petition was in support of an earlier plea that PEMC filed before the appellate court to block the enforcement of the Pasig court’s ruling in favor of TMO.

“Our message here is that consumers are watching over power rates, so do not try to do what you did during the last Malampaya shutdown,” Colmenares said in an interview shortly after filing the petition on Thursday.

“Essentially, TMO withheld supply, so supply was lower and the price increased. If you are guilty of artificially increasing the price, you should be sanctioned. Otherwise, that will be done again and again,” he said.

The PEMC last February sanctioned TMO with a P234.9-million fine for withholding capacity during the 2013 Malampaya shutdown.

Last month, the Pasig court stopped the PEMC from imposing the fine on TMO, granting the latter’s petition anchored on its claim that its rated capacity at the time “could safely, reliably and consistently deliver” its required output of 100 megawatts.

When the Malampaya pipeline went on a one-month maintenance shutdown in 2013, natural gas-using plants that supplied the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) with power had to shift to more expensive fuel to keep on generating power, prompting Meralco to charge consumers P4.16 more per kilowatt hour.

Acting on petitions from several lawmakers, the Supreme Court stopped the power rate hike on the same month it was to be imposed. The temporary restraining order was later extended indefinitely.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) separately found that the WESM prices during the Malampaya shutdown should have been 70 percent lower.

“Clearly, both the Supreme Court and the ERC found the unprecedented rate hike highly irregular… [T]here is sufficient basis for saying that there is prima facie evidence of collusion and anticompetitive behavior among power players, including respondent (TMO),” read the Bayan Muna petition. source

Enough power supply despite El Niño – DOE

By Celso Amo (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 29, 2015 - 12:00am

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Even while water levels at various reservoirs in the country are approaching or already below critical point as an effect of the weak El Niño phenomenon, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla assured the public that the power industry is stable and sustainable.

“The reserves we have right now are still enough. There will be a point when it would reach near critical level, but even a power reserve of only 10 megawatts will be enough for the short term,” he said during a press conference Wednesday at the Albay provincial capitol.

Water level at Pantabangan dam in Nueva Ecija is approaching critical point, while the Angat reservoir is now below the 180-meter critical level.

“But this is not as if we did not expect this. If there’s a problem, as long as you know it’s coming, you know how to solve it,” said Petilla.

The state weather bureau earlier said the El Niño would likely continue until the middle of 2015 with chances of strengthening toward the end of the year.

The energy chief pointed out that they had expected many power plants to stop operating by March, but when the summer months came “all power plants were operating and optimized.”

Petilla, who filed his resignation last month and reportedly eyes a Senate seat in the coming polls, said there are 66 power plants – excluding the small ones – being put up in the country, which he attributed to investor confidence in the present administration.

With the development of renewable energy, he said the power industry now provides 400 MW from wind towers as well as 70 MW from solar energy plants, with a projection of 100 MW in March 2016.

As a result, he said the price of electricity at the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) has gone down compared to two years ago.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda lauded Petilla for bringing price stability and discipline at the WESM, “which was the biggest constraint threatening electricity consumers in the country.”

Meanwhile, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines appealed to the public, particularly farmers, to refrain from kaingin, or the cultivation system of cutting and burning trees.

“In Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, where rice farming is a primary source of income, burned hay and grass interrupted the transmission of power. The thick smoke from a burning fire near or under the high-voltage lines may create a conductive path for a so-called flashover across the air gap between the three conductors of a transmission line,” the NGCP said in a statement.

The agency also noted that in Samar and Eastern Visayas, recent bush fires resulted in the burning of its 69-kiloVolt (kV) wood poles, which led to power interruptions of up to eight hours. – With Ding Cervantes source

Thursday, May 28, 2015

World’s largest investment fund from Norway set to divest from coal

May 28, 2015 by Energy Post

The Finance Committee of the Norwegian Parliament has issued a unanimous recommendation to divest the country’s sovereign wealth fund from the coal industry. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (NGPFG) is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and one of the top ten investors in the global coal industry. Environmental organisations are elated. They expect that many billions of euros will be withdrawn from the coal sector.

The recommendation adopted by the Finance Committee of the Norwegian Parliament on 27 May asks the government to exclude companies deriving more than 30% of their revenues or their power production from coal. It is expected to be formally adopted by the Parliament on June 5.

MP Torstein Tvedt Solberg from the Labor Party, who helped broker the agreement said: “I am pleased that all parties have agreed to withdraw the Pension Fund from coal. This is a great victory for our climate.”

“Through this decision, Norway is really taking a lead,” said Heffa Schücking from the German NGO urgewald. According to Schücking, the Norwegian exclusion criteria go further than what French Insurer Axa announced last week and set a new standard for investors worldwide.

The Parliament is instructing the Norwegian Government to begin implementing the new criteria from January 2016 onwards. “We expect that billions of euros will be withdrawn from the coal industry, when this happens,” said Truls Gulowsen from Greenpeace. “This is a huge win for the divestment movement and a real sign of hope that investment patterns can be changed.”

NGOs expect that the Pension Fund’s investments in companies like Germany’s RWE, China’s Shenhua, Duke Energy from the Unites States, Australia’s AGL Energy, Reliance Power from India, Japan’s Electric Power Development Corporation, Semirara Mining from the Philippines and Poland’s PGE will all be shed.

Divestment campaign

Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, the organisation spearheading the global fossil fuel divestment campaign says, “If you’d told any of us, three years ago, that the planet’s largest sovereign wealth fund would begin divesting, we would have laughed. The way this idea–that the world has far more fossil fuel than it can burn–has spread is an enormously hopeful sign. There’s much work to be done taking on coal, oil, and gas but the momentum is definitely on our side.”

Since the launch of the divestment campaign in 2012, more than 220 institutions and local governments alongside thousands of individuals representing over $USD50 billion in assets have pledged to divest from fossil fuels. According to a study by Oxford University, the fossil fuel divestment movement is the fastest growing divestment campaign in history. At present there are approximately 500 active campaigns worldwide.

The US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) estimates the Norwegian divestment move to cover around $5.4 billion, making it the biggest single divestment move to date in the world. Up to now the decision by the Guardian Media Group in April 2015 to sell all its fossil fuel assets in its investment fund of over £800m is the largest known move to pull out of coal, oil and gas companies.

Syracuse University is the biggest university in the world to have committed to remove its endowment from direct investments in coal, oil and gas companies. It aims to make additional investments in clean energy technologies such as solar, biofuels and advanced recycling.

Earlier this month, Axa, one of the world’s largest insurers, has become the first global financial institution to shun investments in coal companies. The French group, which has more than $1trillion in assets under management, will sell €500m of coal assets between now and the end of the year. Axa also said it would put €3bn into green investments between now and 2020, mainly in clean technology, green infrastructure and green bonds.

Coal stocks

Tom Sanzillo, IEEFA’s director of finance, said that “Coal markets globally are in the midst of a wrenching structural decline. No investment fund in the world—be it university, pension or institutional—can make a compelling financial case to hold these equities in their portfolio any longer.”


A new IEEFA report, “The Case for Divesting Coal from the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global,” authored by Sanzillo, notes that coal-company stock prices have collapsed in recent years and that the stocks of coal-burning utilities are in decline too. It points out that over the past five years, the Stowe Global Coal Index has lost 71 percent of its value, and that while coal will remain part of the global industrial energy mix, its share of that mix stands to continue to fall over time.

According to IEEFA, the NGPFG’s total coal sector holdings are valued at NOK 85.5 billion (US$11.4 billion). Norges Bank Investment Management, an arm of the Norwegian Central Bank, manages the Fund for the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.

According to Sanzillo, “the leadership of the coal industry has only itself to blame for failing to engage in a constructive manner with investors, governments and regulators and now must bear the brunt of the largest fund in the world looking elsewhere to meet its financial targets.”

(Sources: IEEFA, 350.org)

Norwegian Parliament Set to Ban Coal Investments

350.0rg
May 28, 2015

Norwegian Parliament Set to Ban Coal Investments
World’s Largest Pension Fund Set to Divest from Coal

OSLO, Norway — On May 27, the Finance Committee of the Norwegian Parliament issued a unanimous recommendation to divest the country’s sovereign wealth fund from the coal industry. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global is not only the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund; it is also one of the top ten investors in the global coal industry.[1]

The recommendation asks the government to exclude companies deriving more than 30% of their revenues or their power production from coal. It will be formally adopted by the Parliament on June 5.

“It is a happy coincidence that this is World Environment Day,” says Arild Hermstad from the Norwegian NGO ‘The Future in our Hands’. “Coal is bad for all aspects of our environment: it destroys landscapes, contaminates water resources, pollutes the air and is the number one threat for our climate. Such investments are not in line with the values of Norwegian society, and the unanimous vote of the Finance Committee means that this is now recognized across all party lines.”

MP Torstein Tvedt Solberg from the Labor Party, who helped broker the agreement says: “I am pleased that all parties have agreed to withdraw the Pension Fund from coal. This is a great victory for our climate.”

“Through this decision, Norway is really taking a lead,” says Heffa Schücking from the German NGO urgewald. According to Schücking, the Norwegian exclusion criteria go further than what French Insurer Axa announced last week and set a new standard for investors worldwide.

The Parliament is instructing the Norwegian Government to begin implementing the new criteria from January 2016 onwards. “We expect that billions of euros will be withdrawn from the coal industry, when this happens,” says Truls Gulowsen from Greenpeace. “This is a huge win for the divestment movement and a real sign of hope that investment patterns can be changed, “ he adds.

Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, the organisation spearheading the global fossil fuel divestment campaign says, “If you’d told any of us, three years ago, that the planet’s largest sovereign wealth fund would begin divesting, we would have laughed. The way this idea–that the world has far more fossil fuel than it can burn–has spread is an enormously hopeful sign. There’s much work to be done taking on coal, oil, and gas but the momentum is definitely on our side.”[2]

NGOs expect that the Pension Fund’s investments in companies like Germany’s RWE, China’s Shenhua, Duke Energy from the Unites States, Australia’s AGL Energy, Reliance Power from India, Japan’s Electric Power Development Corporation, Semirara Mining from the Philippines and Poland’s PGE will, for example, all be shed.

“Norwegian NGOs will not be alone, when they celebrate,” says Schücking. “There are broad popular resistance movements against the coal industry in all of these countries, and they are going to say: Thank you for divesting, Norway!”

###

CONTACTS

Heffa Schuecking: heffa@urgewald.org or +49 160 96761436

Truls Gulowsen: tgulowsen@greenpeace.org or +47 901 07 904

Arild Hermstad: arild.hermstad@framtiden.no or +47 980 36 762

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

In Batangas, a battle against coal

Rappler.com
Dean Tony La Viña and Mima Mendoza
Published 11:45 AM, May 27, 2015
Updated 11:45 AM, May 27, 2015

Batangas City finds itself in the middle of a fight between its citizens and JG Summit Inc., a holdings company of the Gokongwei Group, as the company plans to put up a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Barangay Pinamucan Ibaba.

Archbishop Ramon Arguelles is leading the charge against the proposal, as coal is considered one of the dirtiest forms of fossil fuel and thus contributes greatly to climate change and causes environmental degradation.

In 2011, Batangas City was conferred the Gold Award for its Environmental Code (E-Code), and the Silver Award as a Livable Community by the International Awards for Livable Communities. Arguelles and the anti-coal coalition argue that a coal-fired power plant would greatly jeopardize that prestigious status, citing not only the power plant’s potential carbon emissions, but also the potential for its waste to contaminate the surrounding areas. Fly ash, which contains heavy metals, will immediately affect surrounding barangays and their population of over 200,000 residents. The proposed coal power plant could undermine the city’s world renowned E-Code, jeopardize the health of its residents, and contribute to climate change.

Clean coal is a myth.

Circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC), the technology that JG Summit plans to use for this proposed plant, increases efficiency but produces four times more ash than pulverized coal power plants, which makes it an even worse health hazard. And while CFBC increases efficiency and lessens CO2 emissions, it does not make enough of a dent to decrease the already massive emissions of coal power plants. A coal-fired power plant that is less dirty is not clean.

The coal industry is also taking a step further in making coal “cleaner” through a controversial process called carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), where carbon emissions are captured and injected deep into the earth. This requires some massive infrastructure, which the Philippines currently does not have. If energy companies are committed to “clean coal,” then they would have to build CCS infrastructure themselves, and thus burden the consumers with the cost.

A report on CCS produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that energy costs would increase 50-100% if CCS is integrated into coal power plants. The Philippines already has one of the most expensive power rates in Asia, and the technology of “clean coal,” along with the steady increase of global coal prices, would certainly aggravate the situation.

The reality is this: “clean coal” isn’t just dirty, it’s also expensive.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has approved 26 new coal power plant projects all over the country, setting the Philippines on a path to coal dependency for the next half-century. Such a path is contradictory to the President’s speech at the UN Climate Summit in New York last September 2014, wherein he told other world leaders that the Philippines “is addressing climate change to the maximum with our limited resources,” singling out the Renewable Energy Act that was passed in 2008. Only 26.4% (2013 figures) of our energy mix is renewable, with more plans to put up coal power plants than renewable energy sites. Clearly, this does not reflect the President’s words in New York.

There have always been arguments against renewable energy – the President himself mentioned his doubts about renewable energy in his 2013 State of the Nation Address, and he is not alone.

The fact that most energy companies insist on putting up fossil fuel plants means that the focus is only on the short term, ignoring the fact that renewable energy has had enormous technological advances over the span of a few years.

Empowering innovators

Wind and solar power is now cheaper than ever before – even cheaper than most forms of fossil fuels in some areas, and storage, considered to be renewable energy’s Achilles heel, has found its match with the announcement of Tesla’s Powerwall, and its bigger, made-for-utility sister, the Powerpack.

Tesla’s new batteries have indeed reinvigorated the renewable energy market, making wind and solar even more viable for an expanded mainstream use. But what’s impressive about Tesla’s new line of storage products is not the technology they use. After all, what the company basically did was to enlarge technology that was already available and package it in a sleek design. The greatest accomplishment of Tesla’s new batteries is its ability to empower a worldwide community of innovators and individuals, especially those from developing countries.

Along with its electric cars, the patents of both the Powerwall and Powerpack fall under the company’s open source policy, which means that anyone can use Tesla’s patent in “good faith.”

If a Filipino engineer finds himself able to recreate the Powerwall at a cheaper price for the Filipino market, than he may do so without fear of being sued by Tesla. This is a revolutionary concept that has the ability to make Tesla’s technology not only accessible to those who need it, but also at a much more affordable price.

With all of these strides being made in the renewable energy market, it’s not a surprise that when we look at the Philippine energy situation, we see a reality that’s frustrating at the best of times.

Better options

The proposed coal-fired power plant in Batangas City has made Batangueños extremely frustrated, because there are options that are much better than dirty energy.

In Lian, Batangas – a mere 77 kilometers north of Batangas City – a 2-megawatt solar power plant built by Lucio Tan’s Absolut Distiller Incorporated (ADI) has already started operations. The power plant cost P189 million ($4.22 million) and a mere two months to build, a stark contrast to JG Summit’s P26.8 billion ($600 million) price tag and three-year construction time for the 300-megawatt coal power plant. The numbers are stacking up against dirty energy, and the people of Batangas City are well founded in their stand against coal.

As one of the most climate vulnerable nations in the world, we should be extremely conscious of decisions that have long-term effects, and what kind of energy we build and consume is one of those decisions.

The government’s feed-in-tariff scheme, which allows renewable energy producers to sell their power at a fixed rate of P9.68 per kilowatt-hour for the next 20 years, makes renewable energy power plants not only a good step towards lesser carbon emissions and ultimately a zero-emissions world, but also sound investments that can be profitable for corporations.

Pope Francis is expected to release his encyclical on the environment in more or less a month from now. His Holiness has spoken many times about the importance of environmental stewardship and how the poorest of the poor are affected by climate change.

Developing countries like the Philippines are the most vulnerable to climate impacts. Typhoons like Ondoy, Sendong, Pablo, and Yolanda, are harrowing reminders that we are already feeling its effects. This is where Archbishop Arguelles is coming from, leading the charge against coal in Batangas City.

The residents of Batangas City are not just fighting against a coal-fired power plant. They are fighting against a lifestyle that continues to destroy our earth and impoverish our people.

Alleviating poverty and energy security go hand in hand, and if the government is serious about these two objectives, then it must stop approving coal power plants left and right, take a genuine and committed look at what renewable energy has to offer, and take part in the revolution.

This goes the same for companies like JG Summit – if they truly believe in securing energy independence for this country, then dirty, dirty coal has got to go. –source 

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Semirara eyes P10B income turnaround

By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
6:27 AM Wednesday, May 6th, 2015

MANILA, Philippines–Semirara Mining and Power Corp. is counting on the expansion of its Calaca coal-fired power plant to recover profitability from last year, even as a weak power segment dampened growth in its coal business.

“Between P9 billion and P10 billion” in consolidated income may be generated by Semirara this year, chairperson Isidro A. Consunji told reporters.

Besides overall growth in existing coal mining and power operations, the expansion of power facilities is expected to bring in additional income.

The first 300-megawatt (MW) expansion of Semirara’s 600-MW coal power plant in Batangas will start operating around midyear and will probably contribute P1 billion to the bottomline, he said.

“That’s the incremental contribution since operation is only for about half year. For a full year’s operation, it would have been around P2 billion,” he said.

Previously, the company’s consolidated net income fell 9 percent in 2014 to almost P6.9 billion, from P7.53 billion in 2013.

In a regulatory filing, Semirara said its coal segment posted record high production and coal sales at 8 million metric tons and 8.9 million tons, respectively.

Coal production was 6 percent higher while coal sales were higher by 16 percent compared to that of 2013.

The composite average price of coal posted at P2,127 per ton, dropped by 3 percent from P2,185 per ton, which was attributed to higher export prices, given the premium on higher coal quality.

Operating days were extended due to favorable weather; hence material movement was higher at 26 percent to 103 million bank cubic meter (bcm) from 82 million bcm in 2013, giving rise to the higher production.

However, Semirara’s power segment declined 45 percent, posting a net income after tax of P2.59 billion from P4.71 billion in 2013. Included in the net income after tax was the recognized income tax benefit of P636 million resulting from net operating loss carry over on the sustained losses on replacement power.

Total energy generated registered at 2,840 gigawatt-hours (GWh) compared to 2,638 Gwh in 2013.

The 22-percent decline was a result of the prolonged commissioning of the new distribution control system installed on Unit 2.

Total energy sold was 3,383 Gwh or 2 percent lower than 2013. Unit 1 registered higher availability at 84 percent compared to 83 percent in 2013, while Unit 2 registered lower availability of 50 percent compared to 83 percent in 2013 because of the prolonged shutdown in the first half.

Composite average price was lower by 15 percent at P3.64 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) compared to P4.26 per kwh in 2013 due to the negative impact of the drop in the Newcastle Index while cost of energy sold was higher at P2.75 per kwh.

This cost was up 48 percent compared to 2013 because of the higher cost of replacement power, which the company sourced from the spot market. source

Petilla asked to stay in post until Noy finds replacement

By Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 6, 2015 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Resigned Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has been asked to stay in his post until President Aquino appoints a new energy chief.

“I’ve been asked to stay until he finds and decides on my replacement,” Petilla said yesterday.

Petilla announced last week that he has resigned effective April 30.

Industry sources said former energy secretary Rafael Perpetuo Lotilla, an independent director of Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) and Trans-Asia Petroleum Corp., and National Transmission Co. (Transco) president Rolando Bacani are being eyed to replace Petilla but Malacañang has not made any announcement on this yet.

Petilla, for his part, has recommended Energy Undersecretary Zenaida Monsada as OIC of the department until the end of the Aquino administration.

While waiting for his replacement, Petilla said he would continue to work on three major projects aimed at bringing prices of electricity lower.

It is not clear how long Petilla will stay at the DOE but when he announced his resignation last week, he said that he cannot stay beyond October.

Government officials who plan to run for the 2016 elections must leave their posts in October.

Petilla, however, is still mum on his political plans, reiterating that he “may or may not run.”

Petilla is the 11th secretary of the post-Marcos era Department of Energy. He is known among industry stakeholders to be the most consumer-oriented energy chief, going against power bullies to keep electricity as affordable and as accessible to as many consumers as possible.

He assumed the position of energy secretary on Nov. 5, 2012, preceding Jose Rene Almendras, who is now secretary to the Cabinet.

Prior to his appointment as the secretary of the DOE, Petilla served as the Leyte governor for three consecutive terms since 2004. source