The exclusion of off-grid areas from the coal moratorium is being sought so the lingering woes of consumers over power service interruptions as well as exorbitant rates can be resolved, according to an industry player that has been providing electricity services to these sites.

DMCI Holdings Chairman Isidro A. Consunji said there is a need for the Department of Energy (DOE) to weigh that policy option because coal is a cheaper alternative for the areas served by the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) of state-run National Power Corporation that are now relying mostly on diesel-fired generation.

The existing coal moratorium does not demarcate if the eventual stoppage of coal plant installations will just cover the main power grids – or if that shall also be extended to the micro-grids or the sites not physically connected to the major grids.

Consunji indicated that for their coal plant facility in the off-grid site of Masbate, they have been supplying electricity at a rate of P9.00 to P10.00 per kilowatt hour (kWh) which is cheaper by P10 to P13 per kWh compared to electricity being drawn from diesel plants at P19 to P23 per kWh.

DMCI Power’s coal plant in Masbate that is equipped with circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology has 15-megawatt capacity and has been delivering its generation to Masbate Electric Cooperative (MASELCO) under a 15-year power supply agreement.

The company’s other coal plant installation at off-grid domain is its targeted 15MW project in Palawan that is anticipated to help solve the long-standing brownout predicaments of consumers in that area.

Consunji qualified that their Palawan project, in particular, was proposed prior to the issuance of the coal moratorium in 2020, “but after that project, we don’t know if we can still build because that is not clear in the policy.”

He opined that “developments of new coal plants may eventually stop in the major grids, but I don’t think it is a wise move to really kill coal entirely in the energy mix.”

Consunji specified that at off-grid jurisdictions, “consumers don’t have the money to pay for their power bills, but unfortunately, they are currently the ones paying for expensive electricity.”

The Consunji group has been supplying domestically-produced coal from its Semirara mine, but the rest of the country’s requirements are being imported mostly Indonesia.

On the facet of fuel importation, however, it is regarded that the price of diesel or even bunker-C would still be more expensive compared to coal once their cost impact would be reflected in the bills of consumers.