WESM registration waived at power retailing threshold

 

Published November 3, 2020, 6:30 AM by Myrna M. Velasco’

https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/03/wesm-registration-waived-at-power-retailing-threshold/

 

Registration with the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) will no longer be mandated if retail competition and open access (RCOA) will already reach the level of household consumers, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).

 “In anticipation of the reduction in threshold level for retail power customers up to the household level, we proposed rules change to the DOE (Department of Energy), that registration will no longer be a requirement,” the WESM operator said.

IEMOP, nevertheless, noted that there might enhancements needed in the market systems – especially in metering as well as the process of customer switching from one supplier to another.

 “We’ll work on the timelines together with the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission), but we’re also discussing with DOE and the ERC on how to make the transition to household level implementation more cost-effective,” the company said.

Consumers procuring their electricity service via RCOA vouch that they have been cornering cheaper electricity rates in their contracts; and they are also demanding better quality service from suppliers.

As laid down by the ERC, retail competition and open access (RCOA) policy in the restructured electricity sector shall go down to the level of 749 to 500 kilowatts (kW) by February 2021; 499 to 100 kW by January 2022; and 99 to 10kW by 2023.

Retail competition in the power sector is currently at the level of 750 kW and up; and all customers in that segment are currently required to secure registration with the WESM.

Nevertheless, when RCOA would already get to the household level, it was emphasized that customers exercising their ‘power of choice’ may reach millions, hence, it will be an extremely tricky process to require them to undergo registration with the WESM operator.

The ERC has just recently concluded its solicitation of inputs and comments from relevant industry stakeholders on the accelerated lowering of RCOA thresholds  – primarily on the new timelines of implementations of power retailing that will go down to the level of the residential consumers.

ERC Chairperson Agnes T. Devanadera said “the benefits of the RCOA scheme will soon come to fruition despite the temporary setback that came up against its implementation.”

She was referring to the legal cases filed against the ERC rules on RCOA that had snagged the implementation of the policy for some time.

Devanadera emphasized “the envisioned competition in the retail level of the supply sector will soon be a reality and the consuming public will be the beneficiaries of the RCOA as they can opt to choose their electricity provider that offers the most competitive price.”

The ERC specified that the end-users who will meet the threshold level “shall be allowed to contract with any licensed/authorized suppliers of electricity on a voluntary basis.” The RCOA edict will empower consumers to choose their own electricity suppliers at a cost that will fit their budgets and on the package of service that they will prefer.

PSALM to borrow P38-B for power rate reduction subsidy

Published November 3, 2020, 2:46 PM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/03/psalm-to-borrow-p38-b-for-power-rate-reduction-subsidy/

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) will need to borrow P38.4 billion this year to augment the funds needed for the power rate reduction subsidy mandated under Republic Act 11371 or the Murang Kuryente Act (MKA) that was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte into law last year.



PSALM President Irene Joy Besido-Garcia said the company will finalize the details of the loan procurement this week, including identification of the banks where borrowings will have to be secured from.


Under the proposed 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA), only P8.0 billion had been allocated for the MKA rate reduction, which entails then that the balance of the P46 billion required funding for this year will need to be sourced through borrowings.

The target of MKA is to reduce the overall cost of electricity being paid for by Filipino consumers – and that will be achieved by scrapping at least two line items in the power bills: the universal charges (UC) for stranded debts and stranded contract costs; and then that will be subsidized through allocations from the Malampaya fund instead of collecting them from the consumers.

PSALM, as well as the Department of Finance (DOF), had previously informed the lawmaker-authors of the Murang Kuryente Act that even if the rate reduction will be covered by the Malampaya fund, the national government will still need to borrow because that fund already needs replenishment.

As noted, the P261 billion logged by the Bureau of the Treasury as Malampaya fund is now just a book entry; hence, if that fund is needed, it has to be topped up by fresh loans.

This early, however, Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian is prompting the DOF to provide sufficient budget for the targeted power rate reduction subsidy and it must “spare the taxpayers from being choked by new borrowings to fund next year’s obligations of the Murang Kuryente Act.”

As only 20-percent of the needed MKA funding had been approved by the finance department, the lawmaker highlighted that “PSALM will have to resort to borrowing for the additional P38.4 billion and taxpayers will bear the brunt of covering the P5.45 billion borrowing cost.”

During the deliberations of the Murang Kuryente Law, framers of the policy had been cautioned that the planned subsidized power rate reduction may eventually spook Filipinos with additional tax burden; hence, that will just delay an even bigger financial pain that they will suffer from in the foreseeable future.

Gatchalian argued though “that is not the spirit and intention of the law,” hence, he noted that his Energy Committee in the Senate will have to request the DOF “to seriously look into this because the P5.45 billion (borrowing cost) is a hefty amount.”

He acknowledged that “if we will be incurring additional costs, then it will still be passed on to the taxpayers because PSALM will need to borrow.”

The lawmaker noted that while the P5.45 billion borrowing cost will not show in the consumers’ electric bills, Filipinos would still bear the cost of that through another means; and it could be through the taxes being imposed by the State.

Oil companies lower pump prices of diesel, gasoline

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:00 AM November 03, 2020
https://business.inquirer.net/311005/oil-companies-lower-pump-prices-of-diesel-gasoline

Local pump prices cut prices of diesel by 85 centavos per liter and of gasoline by 80 centavos per liter as new lockdowns weighed down international crude oil prices. Petron, Shell, Cleanfuel, Seaoil and Phoenix announced priced changes effective 6 a.m. Tuesday. Petron, Shell and Seaoil also reduced prices of kerosene by 70 centavos. As of this reporting, the international benchmark Brent crude futures were pegged at $36.71 per barrel, down from $40.81 per barrel on Oct. 26. Dubai crude, the Asian bellwether, was at $40.68 per barrel as of Oct. 29, down from $41.14 a week earlier. —Ronnel Domingo

PNOC-EC’s coal exploration plan awaits DOE OK

By: Ronnel W. Domingo 04:40 AM November 03, 2020
https://business.inquirer.net/310996/pnoc-ecs-coal-exploration-plan-awaits-doe-ok

State-firm PNOC Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) has applied for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) green light to look for coal at two exploration blocks in Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay, as the government pushes to stir up prospecting activities in order to help stimulate the Philippine economy.

This came just a few days after the DOE’s announcement that it would no longer accept applications for endorsement of new coal projects, in particular power plants that run on this fossil fuel.

The DOE has received and opened last Oct. 30 PNOC-EC’s application for a service contract for the prospective coal deposit, according to Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who also sits as the company’s chair.

Cusi said the PNOC-EC’s filing and the DOE’s receipt of the application related to two coal blocks—designated as 42-I-1 and 42-I-2—was “a milestone in the upstream coal development sector as this is the first application related to coal under the PCECP or Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program.”

The program, laid down in 2017, enables interested companies to either apply for a contract covering areas that the DOE has identified as available, or nominate areas that the applicants themselves identified for exploration of the country’s energy resources including oil and gas as well as coal.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOE is committed to tap potential energy exploration so the country could further attain its energy security and sustainability,” Cusi said in a statement. “We are pursuing to harness all our indigenous energy resources as we continue to usher in economic progress amidst adversities.”

He said exploiting the countries coal resources would help in the recovery economy, which was under recession due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In this light, Cusi said, the DOE was committed to expedite all power- and energy-related projects, including those covered by the PCECP.

Earlier last week, Cusi announced during the 2nd Glo­bal Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables hosted in Singapore a moratorium on new coal-fired generators, based on a perio­dic assessment of the country’s energy requirements.

Bicol provinces still on total blackout; Meralco fast-tracks power restoration

Published November 2, 2020, 12:53 PM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/02/bicol-provinces-still-on-total-blackout-meralco-fast-tracks-power-restoration/

A day after super typhoon Rolly pummeled the Bicol region, the Department of Energy (DOE) reported that consumers in the severely battered provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon and Catanduanes are still agonizing from total blackouts.

In a briefing of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of 10am on Monday (November 2), Energy Undersecretary Alexander Lopez indicated that “as of late, the whole of Bicol region still has no electricity.”


Particularly in Catanduanes, the energy official noted that disconnected communication lines in the province had been rendering power restoration efforts doubly difficult to carry out.


For the rest of the southern Luzon provinces in Quezon, Batangas, Laguna and Cavite hammered by the extreme weather disturbance, the energy official said the assistance of the NDRRMC is being sought “for the deployment of teams for damage assessment”- primarily on the extent of devastation sustained by the Quezon Electric Cooperative.


In the Bicol region, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) asserted that the total loss of power had been mainly due to the “unavailability of power transmission services from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.”

The electrification agency and the DOE cannot give a categorical timeframe yet on when the Bicolanos can finally see “light at the end of the tunnel” after the super typhoon’s battering.


Meralco’s fast-tracked restoration

For Metro Manila and the rest of the areas served by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi emphasized that the utility firm was able to fast-track the restoration of electricity service to its customers.


Data submitted to the DOE showed that as of 6:00am on Monday, “the estimated count of Meralco customers still without power had been at 53,863, which was just around 0.8-percent” of the total 463,582 customers that experienced power supply cut-off during the typhoon’s strike.


For Metro Manila customers served by Meralco, the areas that suffered electricity service disruptions had been Malabon, Las Pinas, Quezon City, Caloocan and Muntinlupa; while the rest are those in Laguna and Quezon provinces.

And while public patience is being stretched for those still groping in darkness, Cusi assured that relevant industry players – primarily the NGCP, National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), NEA, electric cooperatives and all other industry players “are doing everything to restore and put the power back in affected areas.”

Power plants on emergency shutdown

On the part of the generation companies (GenCos), Lopez noted that a total of 2,776 megawatts had been taken out from the system — as the power plant owners and operators resorted to pre-emptive actions “to avoid plant damage and sudden disconnection (of their facilities) to the grid;” while there are also at least three plants undergoing restoration processes.


The electric generating facilities which went on emergency shutdown had been: the Tiwi geothermal power plant; Bacon-Manito geothermal power plant; Makiling-Banahaw geothermal plant; Ilijan gas-fired power facility; Santa Rita gas-fired power plant and the San Lorenzo gas-fired power generating facility.


The power plants on restoration activities as of November 2 had been: the Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation; Avion gas plant; and the Pagbilao coal-fired power plant.


In the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) domain of state-run National Power Corporation, Lopez stressed that the company has “no established communication yet for its SPUG plants in Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.”


For the other SPUG generating facilities in Albay, Romblon, Masbate and even for those in Marinqudue and Quezon, the energy official emphasized that most are either on standby or already partially energized.


In what is deemed as more problematic restoration of power supply in the Bicol region, Lopez said the DOE already met with NGCP “to discuss the details and updates as well as the identification of strategies for immediate restoration.”

With improvement on weather conditions and in collaboration with the power generation companies, Lopez noted that NGCP’s personnel on the ground “will conduct a more detailed assessments,” primarily on connecting the Tayabas-Naga line for the restoration of electricity services in the franchise areas of Camarines Sur Electric Cooperatives I, II, III and IV; and then the repair of transmission lines that will bring back power supply in Camarines Norte, Albay and Sorsogon.


For the electric cooperatives, the energy department said 45 power utilities had been affected in eight regions – and 24 of these are already in normal operations; 10 have experienced partial power interruptions; while 11 suffered total blackouts.

ERC told to issue ultimatum on NGCP’s IPO requirement

By Butch Fernandez November 2, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/02/erc-told-to-issue-ultimatum-on-ngcps-ipo-requirement/

The chairman of the Senate Energy Committee prodded the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to “issue an ultimatum” on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to list its shares of stock in compliance with its franchise as the country’s transmission system operator.

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian issued the reminder after the NGCP filed another motion for reconsideration to extend the deadline on its compliance in the initial public offering (IPO) requirement after the ERC denied the company’s earlier petition and issued a decision in April 17 that NGCP should commence immediately the process of public listing and submit a compliance report.

The Senator reminded the ERC that such requirement on two intervenors will lapse on October 31, even as the ERC has yet to receive comments from the National Transmission Commission Corp. (Transco) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) on NGCP’s motion for reconsideration.

Gatchalian conveyed his misgivings over NGCP’s inaction on the matter as there is no showing that the grid operator will comply with the requirement to list its shares of stock.

“The resolution is absolute. Within six months NGCP should be conducting an IPO but I’m very sure that’s not going to happen. So if that will not happen what is the recourse?” Gatchalian asked.

The lawmaker recalled that based on the franchise law, ERC Chairperson Agnes Devanadera said the NGCP has two options to satisfy the IPO requirement of the franchise, one is the public listing and the other is the listing of a holding company.

Given that the franchise imposes obligations on NGCP as the operator of the transmission grid, Gatchalian pointed out that there will be corresponding penalties and fines that could be slapped against the company for failing to comply with the ERC order.

Gatchalian noted that “it is clear in their franchise that they should be offering its shares to the public,” adding that that the NGCP’s delay in issuing the IPO has already been two years.

In a statement, the Senator stressed the significance of undertaking an IPO, especially in the case of NGCP which manages the government’s transmission assets, saying: “I would like to again stress that the system operator should comply and this is part of the governance mechanism to get the public involved. When the public is involved, then there’s more transparency. Shareholders demand accountability.”

In a statement released during a public hearing presided by Gatchalian in April 2019, NGCP cited the grounds for delaying its planned IPO, citing, among others, public made against its concession by Transco (see “NGCP delays planned IPO,” BusinessMirror, April 4, 2019).

“The entire business of NGCP is founded on the concession agreement, which has been publicly threatened by Transco’s president, Melvin Matibag. NGCP obviously took this public declaration seriously because it came from Attorney Matibag, the president of Transco himself, and that to this very date, to NGCP’s knowledge, neither PSALM [Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.] nor Transco has disowned or contradicted this public declaration.

‘Meralco to help hasten PHL recovery via spending plan’

By Lenie Lectura November 2, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/02/meralco-to-help-hasten-phl-recovery-via-spending-plan/

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is earmarking a capital expenditure (capex) of P50 billion to help the country get back on the road to recovery, according to its chairman, Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Pangilinan said the pandemic has brought about “unexpected and radical change in everyday life, giving rise to complex challenges as well as new opportunities.” Amid all the challenges, he assured that Meralco’s role would continue to be relevant in the lives of its 7.2 million customers.

“We reiterate our commitment to continue to provide the most reliable and resilient network to ensure that the entire franchise is enabled for the economic upturn.

Today, we estimate that we need to execute close to P50 billion of capital expenditures for our distribution business and generation investments. We look at this as an opportunity to create jobs, propel business activities and stimulate consumption.”

There is no period set for the capex mentioned by Pangilinan.

Since the amount includes generation investments, this would not have to follow Meralco’s regulatory year reckoning and will not need prior approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), according to Meralco utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez, while adding that there is no timeframe as to the utilization of the P50-billion capex.

The P50-billion capex would be split between the core business, which is electric distribution, and its power generation unit. “Meralco’s share is P24 billion. MeralcoPowerGen and other subsidiaries account for the balance,” said Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap in a viber message when sought for details.

Siy-Yap said Meralco’s regulatory year (RY) capex for 2021 was already filed with the ERC.

Meralco’s RY 2021 covers from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

A check with the ERC showed that Meralco filed its capex application last September. “The application was filed on September 28, 2020 for Meralco’s 2021 capex,” said ERC Commissioner Rexy Digal in a text message Monday.

The ERC has yet to upload Meralco’s application on its website. She said Meralco proposed a P15.2-billion capex for RY 2020 (July 1 to June 30, 2021) and P20.7 billion for RY 2021.

“The 2020 application is still being heard. The proceedings are still ongoing,” she said.

From January to September this year, Meralco’s capex amounted to P10.9 billion. The amount was utilized to support the surge in residential energy demand due to the continued work-from-home and online education arrangements. It also included network-related programs, such as distribution transformer installation, replacement and upgrade; completion of sub-transmission line backbones; installation of transformer banks; and energization of 48 Covid-19 facilities within the franchise area.

Despite the pandemic, a total of 600 poles have been relocated to support the requirements of the government’s “Build, Build, Build” projects in North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway Connector Road, Skyway Stage 3, LRT1 Cavite Extension, MRT-7, C5 Southlink, Cavite-Laguna Expressway C3-R10 Road, PNR North 1, Skyway Stage 2 Extension and SLEx Toll Road.

On top of this, Meralco has also relocated 579 poles for the road widening projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Meralco is also targeting to achieve 100 percent electrification in its franchise area. Out of the total 559 sites for energization by June 2021, a total of 233 have been electrified, 143 sites with ongoing construction and 183 with ongoing right-of-way acquisitions.

First Gen to debut small-scale LNG

Published November 2, 2020, 7:00 AM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/02/first-gen-to-debut-small-scale-lng/

When its interim import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) will kick off commercial operations in 2022, FGEN LNG Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez-led First Gen Corporation, will in parallel be setting in motion the market introduction of gas for locators in economic zones and industrial parks in the country.
The company said it will start development of small-scale LNG (ssLNG) solutions to industrial users catered to by its affiliate firm First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) in Santo Tomas, Batangas.
First Gen President and COO Francis Giles P. Puno said “several existing and potential new locators have expressed keen interest in using LNG and natural gas directly for various manufacturing process applications; and indirectly in the form of reliable, flexible, environmentally responsible power.”

In a statement to the media, First Gen noted that FPIP “could receive LNG via trucks and specialized insulated containers supplied from FGEN LNG’s interim offshore LNG terminal,” which is sited at its First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas.

The distance between FPIP and the site of the company’s LNG import terminal, to be underpinned by floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), is around 50 kilometers.

Jonathan Russell, chief commercial officer of First Gen, said the company will initially assess the possibility of “introducing ssLNG to FPIP by installing a satellite LNG receiving, storage and regasification facility, which can serve park locators and other nearby industrial customers.”

The subsequent phase to that, he said, will be to target “bringing LNG to other islands in the Philippines using LNG carriers.”

He stressed that the company is enthusiastic “to democratize the use of natural gas in the Philippines using new technology to create small-scale (ss) LNG opportunities in the Philippines by taking LNG supplied in bulk in large LNG carriers to the project and delivering it in small quantities to new industrial, commercial and remote customers that have so far been unable to access natural gas due to the large investment and undertaking required to construct traditional gas infrastructure, such as transmission pipelines.”

Russell explained that FPIP will be connected through a ‘virtual pipeline’ and this will be concretized through the use of ISO containers and trucks “to supply LNG to meet the needs of new and existing locators at (FPIP’s) prime location.”

First Gen specified that “provision has been made at the First Gen Energy Complex to install an LNG truck loading facility to load LNG into ISO containers transported by truck.”

The Lopez-led firm specified the application of LNG technology “can enable the delivery (of LNG) at locations in which developing a traditional gas pipeline network is not feasible.”

Given the constantly advancing business trends in the gas sector, First Gen indicated that ssLNG “may provide a considerable opportunity for the Philippines because of its geographic conditions, with many outlying locations and islands in which electric power is provided by thermal power generation using diesel and other petroleum products.”

Citicore secures deal to power Bench Tower

posted November 02, 2020 at 09:15 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338489/citicore-secures-deal-to-power-bench-tower.html

Citicore Power Inc. said over the weekend it started supplying clean energy to Bench Tower in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Oct. 26.

The headquarters of the popular homegrown clothing brand is the newest addition to Citicore’s growing list of clients.

“We thank Bench for entrusting us their power needs, We are delighted to partner with Bench in advocating corporate sustainability,” Citicore president Oliver Tan said in a statement.

Ground 18 Realty Corp. signed the supply agreement for Bench with Citicore’s retail electricity supply arm Citicore Energy Solutions Inc.

CESI provides clean energy solutions under the retail competition and open access program where large electricity consumers with an average monthly peak demand of at least one megawatt can apply to become a contestable customer in order to have the ability to choose its own electricity supplier.

“Retail energy supply is definitely being recognized now in many industrial and commercial facilities as this enables them to choose their own electricity providers that can support their companies’ economic and sustainability goals. And we see more opportunities in the retail market to further push renewable energy development,” Tan said.

SMC to build LNG power facility

Published November 2, 2020, 6:30 AM  by Myrna M. Velasco

https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/02/smc-to-build-lng-power-facility/

 

To prop the country’s need for more flexible power capacity, the energy investment arm of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) will be building 2,550 megawatts of power facilities that will be utilizing imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and to reach commercial operations in 2022.

In a virtual briefing with reporters, SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said the proposed project will be done in three phases at 850MW capacity each. This will be sited in Batangas, proximate to the existing 1,200MW Ilijan gas-fired power facility.

SMC Global Power Holdings Corporation is the subsidiary that will be advancing this venture to implementation; and the plan is to offer its capacity in a tendering exercise that power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will be undertaking on its competitive selection process (CSP) for new power supply agreements.

 “The power generation group of San Miguel, we are now switching to LNG. We intend to build three lines of 850MW, so that’s 2,550MW,” Ang emphasized.

He said the development blueprint sets for targeted commercial operation date of the initial 850MW by 2022; the timeframe when imported LNG is to start flowing into the country.

Ang said the company will have its own floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) to supply LNG to its own gas plants – and exploratory discussion for tie-up is being pushed with Batangas-headquartered engineering and gas firm AG&P.

 “All of that can be up and running in two years. In 24 months, that plant will be up and running. Whether we win Meralco bid or not, we will construct the first line of 850MW,” Ang stressed.

He specified that the alternative off-takers (capacity buyers) could be the electric cooperatives (ECs), primarily those that are operating in the interconnected power grids of Luzon and Visayas.

The longer term goal, according to Ang, will be to double their gas capacity to more than 5,000MW – depending on how electricity demand gains traction with economic recovery post-pandemic.

The gas sector is deemed as the next sphere of intense competition among power generators, especially with the recent declaration of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi for a moratorium on new coal-fired power plant installations.

Gas technology is similarly seen as the ‘perfect match’ that the power sector must opt for given the country’s grand ambition for renewable energy (RE) developments that could add 14,000 to 15,000MW of capacity in the energy mix in the next 10 years.

On San Miguel’s part, Ang indicated that they are also eyeing to replace some of their old coal plants with LNG-fed generating facilities, so dilemmas on forced outages could be minimized in the electricity system.

DOE invites local, foreign companies to join bidding for geothermal projects

posted November 01, 2020 at 07:35 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338388/doe-invites-local-foreign-companies-to-join-bidding-for-geothermal-projects.html

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Friday foreign and local companies will be allowed to participate in open and competitive selection process for the development of geothermal resources in the Philippines.

Cusi made the statement following his pronouncement last week that foreign companies would now be allowed to participate in large-scale geothermal exploration, development and utilization activities under OCSP3.

“The exclusive right to develop a geothermal resource will be granted through an open and competitive selection process. In this process, all proponents, whether foreign or Filipino corporations, will have to compete,” he said.

Cusi said there were conditions that foreign investors should meet if they wish to participate in the OCSP such as the project should be large-scale, with a minimum investment of $50 million and it should be under financial and technical assistance agreement as provided under the Constitution.

“The one with the best offer will get the RE Contract or in the nature of an FTAA should the foreign proponent win,” Cusi said.

Cusi said FTAAs may be entered into between foreign contractors and the Philippine government for the large-scale exploration, development and utilization of natural resources and are signed by the president.

He said geothermal resources are defined as mineral resources by Republic Act 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

Cusi signed on Oct. 20 the circular providing the guidelines for the OCSP3 in the awarding of renewable energy service contracts.

“From an investment perspective, OCSP3 allows for 100-percent foreign ownership in large-scale geothermal exploration, development, and utilization projects,” he said earlier.

Cusi expressed hope that RE would figure prominently in the country’s energy future.

“As the Philippine Department of Energy re-evaluates the appropriateness of our current energy mix vis-a-vis our energy goals, I am optimistic that this would lead to more opportunities for RE to figure prominently in our country’s energy future,” he said.

“I am determined to accelerate the development of our country’s indigenous resources. We are also pushing for the transition from fossil fuel-based technology utilization to cleaner energy sources to ensure more sustainable growth for the country,” he said.

The DOE earlier identified several geothermal areas for development including the 30-megawatt Mt. Labo geothermal project, 27-MW Daklan geothermal project, 9-MW Itogon geothermal project, 17-MW Puting Lupa geothermal project and 4-MW Maricaban Island geothermal project.

Fuel rollback this week; LPG up by ₱35.20 per 11-kg cylinder

 

Published November 1, 2020, 9:20 AM  by Myrna M. Velasco

https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/01/fuel-rollback-this-week-lpg-up-by-%e2%82%b135-20-per-11-kg-cylinder/

 

Consumers will experience a relief this week as the pump price of gasoline is expected to have a substantial rollback from ₱0.75 to ₱0.90 per liter and from ₱0.80 to ₱0.90 per liter for diesel.

Kerosene will likewise have a price cut by ₱0.65 to ₱0.75 per liter, based on the initial calculation of the oil firms.

Industry players will be implementing these price cuts by Tuesday (November 3) although the dictates of competition may prompt other oil firms to enforce rollbacks ahead of their company rivals to corner patronage of consumers.

But while fuel prices are on rollback, the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a product commonly used in households for cooking will increase by ₱3.20 per kilogram this November or a ₱35.20 increase for the standard 11 kg cylinder. Petron is the first to announce a price hike for its LPG effective Sunday, Nov. 1.

Petron also increased its auto LPG by ₱1.79 per liter starting Nov. 1. The adjustment is reportedly based on the swing of prices in the world market, anchored mainly on the movement of the Saudi Aramco LPG contract prices.