TransCo asked to refund P14 B in RE subsidy collections

By Myrna M. Velasco – November 3, 2017, 10:00 PM

from Manila Bulletin

Fund administrator National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) is being urged to refund up to P14 billion worth of two-year subsidy collections for the feed-in-tariff allowance (FIT-All) charges that had been funneled to renewable energy (RE) projects.

This has been based on the petition lodged by advocacy group Laban Konsyumer, Inc. (LKI) of former Trade and Industry Undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba, which similarly sought the rollback of the FIT-All rate to P0.1025 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from the current rate of P0.1830 per kWh.

The refund amount, as petitioned for, according to Dimagiba would amount to P0,0805 per kWh and shall be retroactive to January 2016.

On their rough calculation, that will sum up to P7.245 billion annually or already inching close to P14 billion to-date; on estimated volume sales of 90 billion kWh yearly. Nevertheless, that figure has to be revalidated by TransCo.

TransCo President Melvin A. Matibag noted that the company would still need to calculate the impact of that FIT-All refund petition, while qualifying that it was the correction introduced in their rate application that had been questioned on supposed lack of republication.

“We complied with all publication requirements for 2016 and 2017 applications. The issue of Atty. Dimagiba in the 2017 application is the correction we wanted to introduce via amendment of the joint application during the hearing proper,” he explained.

Essentially, LKI’s bid is to rollback the FIT-All collection in the electric bills of consumers to P0.1025 per kWh from the level it has been adjusted to at P0.1830 per kWh in 2016.

“Petitioner respectfully prays that the Commission render null and void its decision in the instant application and revert the FIT Allowance of TransCo for 2016 in the amount of P0.1025 per kWh instead of the approved P0.1830 per kWh,” the group has stipulated.