Guidelines readied for coal plants to be covered by moratorium

Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) - December 26, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/12/26/2066239/guidelines-readied-coal-plants-be-covered-moratorium

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is crafting the list of power plants that will be covered by the moratorium on new coal power plants.

A circular is being drafted to lay down the criteria in retiring old power plants.

“This will be considering all factors, not just age. We will consider all. We need the power, so it cannot just be arbitrary,” said Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.

“The circular is still being edited. I approved the draft and it’s being edited. Basically, we’re not accepting any new applications or greenfield. What we are processing are those committed plants, those that are part of the Philippine Energy Plan,” he said.

Cusi said the recent assessment revealed the need for the country to shift to a more flexible power supply mix.

This would help build a more sustainable power system that will be resilient in the face of structural changes in demand and will be flexible enough to accommodate the entry of new, cleaner and indigenous technological innovations.

DOE Electric Power Industry Management Bureau director Mario Marasigan said there is no final list of power plants included for retirement yet.

“We’re still completing simulations. Because there are existing projects that have already proposed expansion projects. We have to determine if the expansion project is really part of the original plan,” he said.

The DOE is looking at a hierarchy of power plants in its simulations.

These are the committed projects that have endorsements, the committed and indicative projects with permits, endorsements at groundworks, the expansion projects that are part of the existing plants and the indicative projects that have no movement yet.