June 18, 2019 | 10:20 pm
https://www.bworldonline.com/nea-claims-13m-new-rural-power-connections-since-2016/
THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) said it achieved its short-term goal of connecting 13 million additional households ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Rural Electrification Program in August.
It said the percentage of energization across 121 areas served by energy cooperatives (ECs) rose to 91% in April 2019 from 80% in June 2016, for an new-connection average growth of 275,238 or 2% increase per half.
“Our relentless efforts with respect to providing electricity to rural and remote areas of the country and usher in a bright future for our fellow Filipinos have borne fruit. This is another milestone in the golden year of the Rural Electrification Program,” NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong was quoted as saying in a statement Tuesday.
NEA is a unit of the Department of Energy and is in charge of implementing the Rural Electrification program and improve the technical capacity and financial viability of power cooperatives. — Janina C. Lim
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Napocor projects in Palawan get priority status from DOE
15 June 2019
https://www.napocor.gov.ph/index.php/35-press-release/561-napocor-to-bid-out-solar-hybrid-system-for-bohol-islands
National Power Corporation’s (Napocor) capacity addition and transmission system projects in Palawan get certified as energy projects of national significance (EPNS) by the Energy Investment Coordination Council (EICC) of the Department of Energy.
The certification was granted to the Palawan island service delivery improvement projects which consisted of capacity additions to eight (8) existing Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) plants and installation of new generating sets to 18 new areas with an aggregate capacity of 5.3 MW.
The existing areas included in the project package are Agutaya Diesel Power Plant (DPP), Araceli DPP, Balabac DPP, Cagayancillo DPP, Culion DPP, Cuyo DPP, Linapacan DPP and Rizal DPP.
Meanwhile, the new areas where power facilities will be established are located in the island or far-flung villages in the municipalities of Taytay (4 areas), Cuyo (2 areas), Coron (2 areas), Linapacan (2 areas), Balabac (2 areas), Araceli, Culion, Agutaya, El Nido, Busuanga, and San Vicente.
Another certificate on EPNS was granted to Napocor’s Palawan grid development projects which composed of nine (9) transmission and substation projects. These are the Brooke’s Point to Bataraza transmission line (approximately 28 kms), Taytay to El Nido transmission line (approx. 60.9 kms), Alimanguhan Swtiching Station project, Alimanguhan Switching Station to San Vicente transmission line (approx. 20 kms), Bataraza substation project, Brooke’s Point substation expansion project, and substations in El Nido, San Vicente and Taytay.
“These transmission line projects will complete the backbone transmission system of the province, and strengthen power reliability and stability,” said Napocor President and CEO Pio J. Benavidez.
Napocor noted that Palawan being the fifth largest island in the Philippines and spans to 434 km long certainly requires several projects to thoroughly secure its power supply and operations.
“With the priority status from EICC – DOE, we hope to expedite the bidding, awarding and implementation process of the said projects,” Benavidez said.
Early this year, Napocor has garnered the same certificate for its 23 projects in various power facilities in off-grid areas in the country.
EICC was created through Executive Order 30 which aims to harmonize and streamline the regulatory processes for critical energy projects. END
https://www.napocor.gov.ph/index.php/35-press-release/561-napocor-to-bid-out-solar-hybrid-system-for-bohol-islands
National Power Corporation’s (Napocor) capacity addition and transmission system projects in Palawan get certified as energy projects of national significance (EPNS) by the Energy Investment Coordination Council (EICC) of the Department of Energy.
The certification was granted to the Palawan island service delivery improvement projects which consisted of capacity additions to eight (8) existing Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) plants and installation of new generating sets to 18 new areas with an aggregate capacity of 5.3 MW.
The existing areas included in the project package are Agutaya Diesel Power Plant (DPP), Araceli DPP, Balabac DPP, Cagayancillo DPP, Culion DPP, Cuyo DPP, Linapacan DPP and Rizal DPP.
Meanwhile, the new areas where power facilities will be established are located in the island or far-flung villages in the municipalities of Taytay (4 areas), Cuyo (2 areas), Coron (2 areas), Linapacan (2 areas), Balabac (2 areas), Araceli, Culion, Agutaya, El Nido, Busuanga, and San Vicente.
Another certificate on EPNS was granted to Napocor’s Palawan grid development projects which composed of nine (9) transmission and substation projects. These are the Brooke’s Point to Bataraza transmission line (approximately 28 kms), Taytay to El Nido transmission line (approx. 60.9 kms), Alimanguhan Swtiching Station project, Alimanguhan Switching Station to San Vicente transmission line (approx. 20 kms), Bataraza substation project, Brooke’s Point substation expansion project, and substations in El Nido, San Vicente and Taytay.
“These transmission line projects will complete the backbone transmission system of the province, and strengthen power reliability and stability,” said Napocor President and CEO Pio J. Benavidez.
Napocor noted that Palawan being the fifth largest island in the Philippines and spans to 434 km long certainly requires several projects to thoroughly secure its power supply and operations.
“With the priority status from EICC – DOE, we hope to expedite the bidding, awarding and implementation process of the said projects,” Benavidez said.
Early this year, Napocor has garnered the same certificate for its 23 projects in various power facilities in off-grid areas in the country.
EICC was created through Executive Order 30 which aims to harmonize and streamline the regulatory processes for critical energy projects. END
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
PSALM secures $1.1-billion syndicated loan to settle NPC’s maturing debts
By
Lenie Lectura- June
18, 2019
The Power Sector Assets
and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has drawn $1.1-billion
syndicated loan from five banks.
The loan would be utilized
to settle maturing debts of the National Power Corp. (NPC).
Under the Electric
Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), PSALM is the government agency tasked to
repay the debts of the NPC.
“For the
$1.1-billion syndicated loan, there are five participating banks—Mizuho Bank
Ltd., $300 million, MUFG Bank Ltd., $300 million, Sumitomo Mitsui
Bank Corp. $300 million, Development Bank of the Philippines, $100 million and
Land Bank of the Philippines, $100 million,” said PSALM President and Chief
Executive Officer Irene Joy Garcia in a text message.
The loan, said the
PSALM official, has a term of five years and one-day amortization, with
interest benchmark of three months US libor + 70 bps.
“After we secured
all the required approvals and clearances, we proceeded with the execution of
the syndicated loan on March 28, 2019. Thereafter, all the conditions precedent
and deliverables for drawdown were completed last week so the drawdown happened
on May 16, 2019,” Garcia said.
The PSALM offical said
earlier that the agency is constrained to resort to borrowings under national
government guarantees in order for PSALM to timely fulfill its mandate of
liquidating the financial obligations of the NPC.
In 2018, PSALM borrowed
about P23 billion to cover its maturing obligations.
Funds in settling
PSALM’s assumed financial obligations are sourced from collections from its
power generation, privatization proceeds and universal charge.
PSALM earlier reported
that independent power producer administrators (Ippas) and electric
cooperatives (ECs) dominate the list of the top corporate entities with long
overdue accounts with the agency amounting to a combined P59.23 billion as of
December 2018. A number of these accounts were transferred by the NPC
to PSALM.
“As a result, PSALM had
to pay interest, guarantee fees and other finance charges of about P2.62
billion per year. Had the Ippas and electric cooperatives paid, PSALM would not
incur this much additional costs,” the agency had said.
PSALM has trimmed down
its financial liabilities by P78 billion in 2018. It settled a total of P78.66
billion for maturing obligations broken down into P31.50 billion debts, P29.07
billion in IPP lease obligations and P18.08 billion in interest and other
charges.
After the
settlement, PSALM’s outstanding balance stood at P449.94 billion as of
end-2018.
The state firm also
recorded P25 billion in foreign-exchange losses. “With peso depreciation
in 2018 versus end of 2017, total forex impact is around P25 billion,” said
PSALM.
The state firm
explained that for every P1 devaluation to the US dollar, there’s an P8-billion
increase in PSALM’s financial obligations, and accordingly, forex loss
incurred.
The bulk of PSALM’s
financial obligations are foreign denominated, with a huge portion based in US
dollars. Any devaluation of the peso against the US dollar from time to time
contributes to the surge in financial obligations. The commissioning of new
power plants at that time also led to the spike in the debts’ interests.
It is projected that
with PSALM’s continuous privatization efforts, including the sale of
real-estate assets, collection of universal charge and power-generation
proceeds, and financial obligations will further decrease substantially when
the corporate life of PSALM ends in 2026.
DoE denies Gas2Grid request to delay start of drilling operations
June 18, 2019 | 12:02 am
THE Philippine Department of Energy
(DoE) has rejected Gas2Grid Ltd.’s request to push back the start of drilling
operations on the Nuevo Malolos-1 Deepening to the end of July, the
Sydney-based oil and gas exploration company said on Monday.
In a disclosure to the Australian
Securities Exchange (ASX), Gas2Grid said it had requested the DoE to delay until
end of July the commencement of drilling operations due to force majeure.
“The DoE notice not approving the
extension to commence operations under Force Majeue will now impact on the
proposed capital raising,” the company said.
It also noted the DoE denied its
request in a letter dated May 17, but this was only received by the company on
June 14.
“The DoE also advised the company to
commence drilling operations in accord with the conditions of the two-year
extension which includes drilling Nuevo Malolos-1 Deepening by the 3rd
of July, 2019. Failure to comply risks termination of the service contract,”
Gas2Grid said.
The company said it will challenge
the DoE decision.
Gas2Grid said the company had to
defer the start of drilling operations after its expatriate drilling engineers
were unable to start work on the site due to the May 13 elections.
“In addition, local drilling crew
advised their preference to wait until after the election before determining
timing to commence site operations. The company therefore had no choice but to
defer commencing site work until end of July, 2019 and formally request the DoE
grant deferral of the start date under Force Majeure, provided for under
Service Contract (SC) 44,” Gas2Grid said.
Gas2Grid Ltd. is an Australian
company created in 2004 for domestic and international oil and gas exploration.
Its assets include a 750- square kilometer Petroleum SC 44, located onshore
Cebu Island in the Philippines which had been issued for a seven year period.
Oil prices rise after 3 rollbacks
By
Lenie Lectura - June 18, 2019
LOCAL pump prices are
on the rise after three consecutive weeks of price rollback.
In separate
announcements on Monday, oil companies said they would increase gasoline prices
by P0.35 per liter, diesel by P0.20 per liter and kerosene by P0.20 per liter.
Seaoil Philippines,
PetroGazz, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Pilipinas Shell, Total Philippines
and PTT Philippines said the price increase will take effect 6 a.m. of Tuesday,
June 18.
“This is to reflect
movements in the international oil market,” they said.
Other oil firms are
expected to announce their price adjustment on Monday night.
Prior to this week’s
price increase, gasoline price went down by a total of P4.50 per liter, diesel
and kerosene by P4.20 per liter, respectively.
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