The rules for the targeted green energy auction program (GEAP) will be laid down next month, according to the Department of Energy (DOE), but the actual bidding for renewable energy (RE) capacity installations will likely be undertaken second half of the year yet.
Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor E. Delola said the rules on the RE auction is still up for approval by Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi – primarily on the definitive schedule for the bidding and the volume to be offered in the auction process.
‘The volume is dependent on the proposed hike by NREB (National Renewable Energy Board) of the RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) requirement,” he stated.
The initial simulation that both the energy department and NREB came up with had been 2,000 megawatts; but they forthrightly stipulated that the final number may still change.
For the auction schedule, most of the players in the RE sector are expecting that it will happen by June this year, but given the pace of approvals still to be rendered by the DOE, timelines will likely be pushed back.
At the recent 5th Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) General Membership Meeting, Cusi indicated that “the government can introduce policies and laws to make the country a haven for investments and even out the playing field for stakeholders.”
He further asserted “we can only achieve our aspirations if the titans of the industry – both local and foreign – will stand with us side by side.”
The investors though have been eager to inject fresh capital into the RE sector since last year or even earlier, but they have been waiting for clear and definitive policy enforcements from the DOE – especially on the targeted auction of RE capacities for the RPS because that will be the main driver for the next round of green energy installations in the country.
They have been sounding off to government policymakers that the Philippines is already losing out against competitors – including to neighbors in Southeast Asia like Vietnam, Thailand and even Cambodia -- but the DOE has not been picking up the pace on actual policy implementations.
Cusi still promised the investors though that “the government will continue to craft proactive policies to help the Philippines attain energy security, equity and sustainability.”
The energy chief conveyed that “way before this pandemic even came into play, the Philippines has always been aspiring for power supply sufficiently as a pre-requisite for an effective competitive spot market, and for bridging the logistics requirements of the country’s archipelagic layout.”
Cusi nevertheless acknowledged that “energizing and connecting off-grid, unserved and underserved areas have proved to be challenging, now that the nation still continues to battle against Covid-19 pandemic.”
The overall target cast by the DOE in the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) is to ramp up the share of RE in the power mix by 35-percent until year 2030; and that entails additional installations of up to 34,000 megawatts.