ERC amends installed generating capacity limits on power firms

Business Mirror
23 Mar 2014 Written by Lenie Lectura

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has adjusted the installed generating capacity limitation on the country’s power firms.

In a statement the commission said it approved on March 10 the adjustments for the installed generating capacity (IGC) per grid and the national grid, as well as the the market share limitation (MSL) per regional grids and the national grid for 2014.

Under Section 45 (a) of Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Epira), the MSL is set annually to prevent a person, company, related group or independent power producer administrator (IPPA), singly or in combination, to own, operate or control more than 30 percent of the IGC of a grid, and/or 25 percent of the national IGC.

Power firms cannot own facilities with installed capacities exceeding 3,612.42 megawatts (MW) in Luzon, from 3,558 MW; 548.187MW in the Visayas, from 613.692MW; and about 589.09MW in Mindanao, from 589.091MW. Based on ERC’s computation the IGC limit as of March this year was set at 3,958.087 MW at the national level from 3,929.343MW in March last year. As of end-March this year, the installed generating capacity stood at 15,832.35MW, a 35-percent increase from 15,717.37MW in the same period last year.

On a per grid computation, the Luzon grid registered an IGC of 12,041.417MW this year, up by 1.53 percent from the 11,859.988MW of the previous year.

A 10.67-percent drop was registered in the Visayas grid from 2,045.64 MW to 1,827.29 MW.

The Mindanao grid’s installed capacity, meanwhile, increased by 8.38 percent to 1,963.64MW from 1,811.74MW.

These adjustments are pursuant to the ERC Resolution 26, Series of 2005, also known as the guidelines for the determination of installed generation capacity in a grid and the national IGC and enforcement of the limits of concentration of ownership, operation or control of IGC. The guidelines were approved by the ERC on December 25, 2005, and became effective on February 22, 2006.

Section 3, Article II states in the said guidelines that the IGC per grid and national grid, and the MSL shall be adjusted by the cmmission on or before March 15 of the succeeding year and/or as often as necessary based on the maximum capacity of the power plants submitted by the generating companies and other entities required to submit the said reports.

The increases and decreases in the IGC per grid and national grid are based on the submission of the generation companies and are accounted for by the increase in the IGCs of some power plants; decrease in the IGCs of certain power plants; inclusion of IGCs for new, re-commissioned, or additional power plant facilities of independent power producers (IPPs); and exclusion of IGCs for IPPs that have undergone plant shutdown/rehabilitation or have stopped operations due to natural calamities.

“The ERC sets the installed generating capacity and the market share limitation yearly to promote free and fair competition in the generation and supply of electricity, to ensure consumer protection, and to enhance the competitive operation within the industry,” ERC Chairman Zenaida G. Cruz-Ducut said. source