By Sheldeen Joy Talavera – October 10, 2023 | 8:24 pm
from Business World
THE Department of Energy (DoE) said it provided another deadline extension to winners of the second Green Energy Auction (GEA-2) program to submit their post-auction requirements.
In an advisory, winners were given until Nov. 13 to comply with the requirements. The DoE had originally set the deadline at Sept. 10, and then extended it to Oct. 10.
It said work suspensions due to inclement weather and holidays were partly behind the latest extension, though it was also responding “to the findings in the focus group discussion where the participants in GEA 1 found the timelines to be too strict,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella, the official who signed the advisory, said in a Viber message.
The DoE said it will issue the certificates of award to post-auction qualified winning bidders on or before Dec. 13.
Winning bidders that fail to submit post-auction requirements before Oct. 25 are required to extend the validity of their bid bond from Oct. 31 to Nov. 31, the DoE said. Proof of bond extension must be submitted not later than Oct. 27.
“Failure to submit such proof of bid bond validity extension within the prescribed timeline shall result in the post-auction disqualification of the bid and the corresponding forfeiture of the bid bond,” the DoE said.
GEA-2 was conducted on July 3, after which the DoE issued notices of award for 105 winning bids, covering projects generating 3,440 megawatts (MW), well below the 11,600-MW capacity on offer.
The project timelines are between 2024 and 2026.
The GEA program aims to promote renewable energy (RE) as a primary source of energy through competitive selection.
The DoE said that it will also help the government reach its goal of increasing the RE share of the energy mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.