DOE: Local power plants have enough coal supply
BY LENIE LECTURA – JANUARY 13, 2022
from Business Mirror
The Department of Energy (DOE) said it was assured by power plants that they have sufficient supply of coal for more than a month following Jakarta’s decision to ban the shipment of coal from Indonesia.
“The initial picture that we have is that all of them have met the 30 days requirement. Some of them may extend up to 45, 50 days,” DOE Director Mario Marasigan said during an online news briefing.
The agency’s Electric Power Industry Management and Energy Resource Development Bureau met with coal power plant generators the other day to discuss potential strategies to ensure sufficient coal supply.
“As per their report, their inventories are complete. There are ongoing discussions on how to address the situation,” he said. Indonesia is the biggest supplier of coal in the country. The Philippines imported 69.51 percent of its 42.476 million metric tons (MMT) of coal supply in 2020.
In 2021, the country imported 2.3 MMT of coal monthly from Indonesia. Data from the DOE showed that as of October 2021, the Philippines acquired 96.88 percent of imported coal supply from Indonesia, 1.82 percent from Australia, 0.35 percent from Vietnam, and 0.94 percent from other exporting countries. Of the total 42.476 MMT of coal imported in 2020, 30.49 percent came from local sources.
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi sent a letter to his Indonesian counterpart, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Afirin Tasrif, to appeal for the lifting of the ban, saying the move would be “detrimental to economies that rely on coal-fired power generation systems like the Philippines.”
Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian earlier called on the agency to prepare for contingency measures to ensure sufficient coal supply and avert a possible increase in coal prices.
The ban has raised concerns that the country’s supply of coal for power plants which, if insufficient, could lead to widespread blackouts.
“Part of the contingency measures should be to ensure the adherence of coal-fired power plants to the 30-day minimum inventory requirement,” Gatchalian said.
Environmental group Greenpeace shared the same sentiment. While Indonesia has loosened its ban on coal exports due to pressure from trading partners including the Philippines, consumers will shoulder the high electricity costs resulting from fossil fuel import dependence.
Also, the group warned that more energy crises will arise if governments would continue to depend on fossil fuel imports.
“This unfortunately shows how dependent we are not just on fossil fuels, but on fossil fuel imports. With no ambitious plans to boost clean and renewable energy in the energy mix, energy insecurity will be a recurring problem that will burden Filipinos and the world, on top of the climate and Covid-19 crises,” said Khevin Yu, Energy Transition Campaigner of Greenpeace Philippines.
The group also called on the DOE to ramp up its commitment to phase out coal by revising the Philippine Energy Plan so that it facilitates a “just and urgent transition” to renewable energy.
Yu said the DOE should increase the country’s renewable energy target to 50 percent by 2030, halt all plans for fossil gas, nuclear and all types of false solutions, and improve grid development for utility-scale solar and wind, which are abundant, indigenous, and free energy sources.
