DOE halts priority energy project certification
By Myrna M. Velasco – December 14, 2020, 7:00 AM
from Manila Bulletin
The Department of Energy (DOE) has suspended the issuance of “certificates of energy projects of national significance” (CEPNS) to various projects being proposed by industry players.
In an advisory served by Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, the department stated that it has stopped the CEPNS “to give way to a thorough evaluation of its effectiveness with respect to securing regulatory permits and licenses, endorsements and other requirements relative to the timely development and completion of energy projects.”
The DOE has instead advised industry players that the evaluation of their project applications shall be “automatically migrated to the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) system.”
Via CEPNS, the process of evaluation and approval of projects had been set for 30 days as prescribed under Executive Order No. 30 that was issued by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017.
The evaluation of projects was being channeled through the Energy Investment Coordinating Council (EICC) chaired by the DOE; and it is also the department coordinating project approvals with all the other relevant government agencies.
The array of CEPNS projects approved within the ambit of EO 30 include renewable energy projects, thermal power ventures, transmission facilities, liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities, and power project installations that will cater to the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) of the National Power Corporation.
The EVOSS, on the other, is a legislated act that was passed in 2019; and it also targets to streamline project permitting processes for energy investments. The system for EVOSS is being administered by the energy department in collaboration will other concerned agencies, including the Office of the President.
On the migration of energy projects’ evaluation and permitting with EVOSS, the DOE has specified that “electric power and renewable energy projects applying for permits or certifications from the DOE shall be regularly processed and monitored,” in keeping with the implementing rules and regulations of the EVOSS law.
Primarily, the DOE stipulated that ‘energy projects of national significance’ that had not been endorsed by the department “shall be processed under the EVOSS Act provided that these projects fall within its coverage.”
The EVOSS law or Republic Act 11234 streamlines permitting and licensing process in power projects – which had been a headache for many investors for the longest time already; and had also consequently delayed heaps of projects.
The DOE is afforded two months or 60 days to resolve all project approvals lodged before it for action – provided that the documents and requirements of the project proponent is already complete; while the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is given up to 270 days on approvals, primarily on applications for power supply agreements.
The timeframes set for other government agencies are: 105 days for the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP); 75 days for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR); 60 days for the Department of Agriculture; 120 days for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); and 60 days for the National Water Resources Board.
For the Philippine National Police (PNP), project approvals must be sorted within a span of 15 days; Department of Public Works and Highways for 30 days; while local government units and other agencies shall have a leverage of 15 days in processing and approving project applications.
