NGCP gets nod to implement 5 ancillary service contracts

By Alena Mae S. Flores – September 3, 2023, 8:15 pm
from manilastandard.net

Grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines received provisional authority from the Energy Regulatory Commission to implement five ancillary service procurement agreements.

The ERC approved NGCPs five-year ASPA for four battery energy storage systems and a one-year contract for a diesel power plant.

It approved the ASPAs of Giga Ace 4 Inc. for the 30.024-megawatt Alaminos BESS in Laguna; Universal Power Solutions’ 50.519-MW BESS in Limay, Bataan; UPSI’s e 60.234-MW Lamao BESS in Bataan; UPSI’s 57.168-MW in San Manuel, Pangasinan; and Isabel Ancillary Services Co. Ltd.’s 70-MW modular diesel plant in Leyte.

Ancillary services are pass-through costs of NGCP, but the ERC said the ASPA rates are the result of the competitive selection process, with the objective of providing lower AS costs for the benefit of the consumers.

It said the rates to be paid by NGCP as AS cost should be passed on to customers in accordance with the approved Ancillary Services-Cost Recovery Mechanism.

The ERC directed NGCP to optimize the economic and technical dispatch of the available AS capacity, where it should schedule a mix of hourly AS capacity, “at the least cost,” for a reserve needed to maintain power quality, security, reliability, and integrity of the grid.

“To ensure the reliability and integrity of the grid, applicants are directed to deliver the contracted capacity under their firm AS contract arrangement. Applicants must honor its firm AS contract arrangement, which means NGCP must ensure that the contracted capacity under the instant ASPA shall be both declared and scheduled for dispatch,” it said.