Validation of solar plants’ completion pressed

by Myrna Velasco April 10, 2016

http://www.mb.com.ph/validation-of-solar-plants-completion-pressed/

For the sake of transparency, the relevant government agencies – primarily the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) – are being prodded to release validation reports on solar installations competing in the second wave race for feed-in-tariff (FIT).

This plea was formally lodged by advocacy group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reform, Inc. (Nasecore) indicating that some processes may have been bypassed in qualifying certain solar projects for the FIT incentives.

This, as he also called on the ERC to suspend the implementation of the adjusted FIT Allowance (FIT-All) due to complaints being raised on the award of the subsidies that will be coming directly from consumers’ pockets.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada, Nasecore President Pete L. Ilagan has cited reports that “several solar plant developers bypassed requirements particular to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in order to beat the March 15, 2016 deadline.”

He particularly asked the energy department “to release the on-site ocular inspection reports and all pertinent documents that would prove that the renewable energy firms strictly complied with the DOE’s set guidelines.”

Ilagan stressed “we cannot turn a blind eye on this matter of national interest,” adding that “the Filipino people have been faced with a never-ending series of power rate increases and because of FIT, they would again be forced to shell out more to pay for the generation costs of these solar farms.”

He further pointed out “what’s worse is that these power plant developers are able to disregard the rules for this process which from the beginning was unfair to the regular electricity consumer.”

Meanwhile, in a correspondence to ERC Chairman Jose Vicente B. Salazar, Ilagan sought for “the suspension of FIT until such time that all doubts about the compliance of supposedly FIT-eligible companies are cleared.”

He qualified that while they support incentives for renewable energy developments, the award of FIT shall be done with utmost transparency and all rules must be strictly followed.

He reiterated “we recognize the need for incentives to encourage the entry of renewable energy but since the public will be shouldering this subsidy, we as consumers have the right to know if indeed these solar companies deserve our hard-earned money.”