January 26, 2018 By
Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
SN ABOITIZ Power-Magat,
Inc. (SNAP-Magat) has asked the Energy department to endorse its 8.5-megawatt
(MW) Maris main canal hydroelectric plant in Isabela province to receive the
guaranteed rate for 20 years under the feed-in-tariff (FiT) system, an official
of the company’s parent firm said.
Antonio M. Moraza,
president and chief operating officer of SNAP-Magat’s parent Aboitiz Power
Corp., said he was confident the
project would secure the required clearance, including the certificate of
compliance (CoC) from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
“We need the FiT CoC
from ERC. Hopefully, when they have enough commissioners we can move,” he told
reporters on the sidelines of the P2.15-billion plant’s ceremonial launch in Barangay
Ambatali in Ramon, Isabela, on Thursday. “We’re confident we’ll get it.”
Mr. Moraza said the
project should qualify for the FiT as the power plant uses water that flows
from the dam through a river.
“We’re dependent on the
flows from Magat [dam]. We can’t control it. So it’s like a river,” he said.
Company executives said
the Department of Energy had conducted several “validations” before the
granting of the certificate of endorsement, the required document before the
ERC issues the CoC.
The ERC set a FiT rate
of P5.90 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for run-of-river hydro projects that started
commercial operations by end-2016. The rate has been degressed in 2017 to
P5.8705 per kWh as called for by the FiT rules, but remains significantly
higher compared with those at the electricity spot market.
The system of granting
FiT ended in 2017, but Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi had said he was
inclined to extend it for run-of-river hydro plants as the 250-MW installation
target set by the previous administration was significantly undersubscribed.
Maris hydro is the
first power plant constructed by the SNAP group since it acquired the 380-MW
Magat hydropower plant in 2007 through privatization. It is composed of two
Kaplan generator units with a nameplate capacity of 4.25 MW each. The first
unit was commissioned on Oct. 24, 2017 while the second was commissioned on
Nov. 6, 2017.
Joseph S. Yu, SNAP
president and chief executive officer, called Thursday’s launch “a celebration
of the partnerships that made this project possible: the synergy of local and
international expertise; the collaboration with the provincial and local
governments, agencies, and communities, and the tireless effort of an amazing
team which contributed greatly to our project’s success.”
“This was truly a
collaborative effort — and will continue to be — as we work together to power
positive change for our country, our host communities, and our team,” he said
in his speech during the event.
SNAP-Magat, which took
about two years to finish the plant, received in 2017 the Corporate Safety
Milestone Award by the Safety and Health Association of the Philippine Energy
Sector, Inc. for accumulating at least a million man-hours without lost time
accident.
Maris hydro makes
Barangay Ambatali the latest addition to SNAP-Magat’s roster of host
communities. The municipality of Ramon and province of Isabela are host
communities of SNAP-Magat through the Magat hydro, which stands on the border
of Ramon, Isabela, and Alfonso Lista, Ifugao.
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