Gencos get nod to start operations

By Lenie Lectura – July 20, 2020
from Business Mirror

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it has acted on the pending applications of power firms for the continued operation of their facilities amid the pandemic.

The agency said it approved 176 applications for the issuance of Certificate of Compliance (COC) and Provisional Authority to Operate (PAO) of Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Qualified End-Users (QEs), and Self-Generation Facilities (SGFs) from March 15 to July 14.

“Work in the ERC must go on despite the lockdown measures implemented by the government, because keeping sustainable electricity is very crucial especially during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The COCs and PAOs that we have approved will authorize the generation companies to start their commercial operations in order to ensure a stable and reliable power supply,” said ERC Chairman and CEO Agnes VST Devanadera.

The COCs are being issued by the ERC in favor of a person or entity to operate a power plant or other facilities used in generation of electricity pursuant to Section 6 of Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

Meanwhile, pending the issuance of a COC, a PAO may be issued by the ERC to enable a generation company to operate its generation facility. The PAO is being issued in the form of a notification to the GenCo which is valid for a period of six months from the issuance thereof. The 6-month period shall be included in the 5-year term of the COC that may be issued by the ERC.

The agency said it approved 51 COCs to IPPs, 33 of which are PAOs; 76 COCs for QEs; and 49 COCs for SGFs.

For the IPPs, 15 are new COCs while the remaining 36 are renewals. For the SGFs, 23 are new COCs while 26 are renewals.

“The Commission assures the generation companies that they will be issued the required COCs or PAOs within the prescribed period to enable them to operate and augment the country’s power supply. This will help ensure uninterrupted electricity and help alleviate the impacts of this pandemic,” Devanadera added.

To ensure the performance of its mandates and the continuous delivery of its services, the ERC adopted a combination of work-from-home and skeleton work force work arrangements during the community quarantine periods.