ERC okays lower FiT-All rate for power consumers
By Lenie Lectura -January 29, 2020
from Business Mirror
Consumers will soon pay a lower feed-in-tariff rate of P0.0495 per kilowatt hour, lower by P0.1731 per kWh from the current FiT-All rate of P0.2226 per kWh, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ruled.
The FiT-All is a uniform charge collected annually from all electricity users. Distribution utilities (DUs), the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and Retail Electricity Suppliers (RES) serve as collecting agents and proceeds go to the FiT-All Fund administered by the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo).
The current FiT-All rate of P0.2226 per kWh is the applied FiT-All rate for 2018. DUs will soon implement the 2019 FiT-All rate of P0.0495 per kWh after it has received the ERC order.
“The approved 2019 FiT-All rate will be charged to all on-grid consumers supplied with electricity through the distribution or transmission network starting the immediately succeeding billing period following TransCo’s receipt of the ERC decision. The 2019 FiT-All will result to a reduction in the existing FiT-All rate and will increase the consumers’ purchasing power,” ERC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera said.
The ERC also said that the approved 2019 FiT-All is lower by P0.1976/kWh vis-à-vis TransCo’s proposed rate of P0.2471.
“The ERC, in computing the 2019 FiT-All rates, made use of the actual generation billed and the actual cost recovery rate from January until August 2019, among others,” it added.
The 2019 FiT-All considered the FIT-eligible plants with certificate of compliance (COC) for FiT and the 2019 forecasted incoming run-of-river Hydro and biomass plants in view of the extension by the Department of Energy (DOE) of the installation target for ROR hydro and biomass up to December 31, 2019, or its full subscription, whichever comes first.
Moreover, TransCo in its manifestation estimated an under recovery in the amount of P122.7 million. The commission, however, used the actual over recovery reflected in the books of TransCo as of October 7, 2019, amounting to P6.7 billion.
The FiT-All mechanism was established pursuant to the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to spur the development of emerging renewable power sources, such as wind, solar, ROR hydro and biomass facilities.
Basically, the amount is meant to cover payments to renewable-energy (RE) developers who are assured of a fixed rate per kWh for electricity generated by their projects over a period of 20 years.
Under the FiT-All guidelines, TransCo has to make an annual determination of the FiT-All rate and file an application for the approval of the following year’s FiT-All rate before the ERC not later than end of July each year.
