DOE eyes entry of new power plants

By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 17, 2016 - 12:00am

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/08/17/1614370/doe-eyes-entry-new-power-plants

MANILA, Philippines – In order to meet the growing demand for power between now and 2030, the Department of Energy (DOE) sees the need to facilitate the entry of new power plants in the country and to streamline the process of issuing permits.

Speaking at a hearing of the Senate committee on energy on the power situation in Luzon yesterday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi cited a study conducted by the department, which showed the country would need an estimated 10,191 megawatts of additional power between 2016 and 2030.

Saying that it was still a “raw study,” Cusi noted the projected additional power requirement was based on the assumption that the economy would grow by an average of five percent per year and population growth would be at 1.5 percent annually.

This does not take into consideration the existing power plants that might have to be replaced eventually, he said.

At present, Cusi said that the DOE was expecting 3,883 MW in committed capacity and another 9,600 MW indicative capacity or based on what new generation companies (gencos) could potentially produce once they put up their respective plants.

For this year alone, Cusi said a total of 847 MW of additional power was expected to be generated from the combined output of the coal, natural gas, solar, biomass and other plants in Luzon.

In 2017, Cusi said another 1,242 MW in additional power could be generated, 631 MW in 2018 and 561 MW in 2019.

To encourage investors, the DOE intends to streamline the process for granting permits and endorsements to the gencos, Cusi said.

Under the present system, Cusi said that an investor interested to put up a power plant in the country would have to secure a total of 123 signatures from the different agencies in order to get a permit to construct the facility.

Once the permit is issued, it takes another three to four years to construct the plant.

“We have to make permitting a lot easier. We are still in the process of reviewing that,” Cusi said.

He said that the move was consistent with the order of President Duterte to fast-track the issuance of permits in government.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the energy committee, agreed on the need to cut red tape in the energy sector if the requirements for additional power were to be met.