.jpg "e9329_erc(1)"){kind=small}
The Energy Regulatory Commission said Thursday it suspended the processing of eight applications for power supply agreements which have not secured the required environmental compliance certificates from the Environment Department.
ERC said the eight applications without ECCs were filed by Misamis Oriental Electric Cooperative II and Astroenergy; Palawan Electric Cooperative and Delta P; Cebu Electric Cooperativ I and Mariveles Power Generation Corp.; Tarlac Electric Cooperative Corp. I and Mariveles Power; Cebu Electric II and Mariveles Power; Aurora Electric Cooperative and Mariveles Power; and Palawan Electric Co. II and Mariveles Power. Tarlac Electric II and Mariveles Power have two separate filings.
“The ERC fully shares DENR’s concern to ensure the protection of the environment and is determined to help safeguard the people’s right to a balanced and healthful ecology in accordance with the Constitution,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said in a statement.
ERC said it decided to act on the request of the Environment Department for the former to suspend the process of approval of any power supply agreement in view of the ongoing re-evaluation of ECCs.
Environment Secretary Regina Lopez sent a letter to Salazar in July on the department’s ongoing re-evaluation of the ECCs. Lopez asked the commission to suspend the approval of any power supply agreement while the re-evaluation was taking place.
“In response to the said request, the commission en banc, during the 9 August 2016 commission meeting, unanimously resolved to hold in abeyance the processing of pending application for approval of the power supply agreements, which to date, are without ECCs,” Salazar said in his response to Lopez.
The Environment Department requires any project that poses a potential environmental risk or a significant impact on the environment, such as mining, agriculture projects or construction to get an ECC.
An ECC certifies that the proposed project or undertaking will not cause a significant negative impact on the environment. It contains specific measures and conditions that must be accomplished by the project proponent before and during the operation of the project.
It also certifies that the proponent has complied with all the requirements of the environmental impact statement system and has committed to implement its approved environmental management plan.
Power generators and distribution utilities and electric cooperatives jointly file their power supply agreements with the ERC for approval.
Coal plant operators earlier expressed concern over the appointment of Lopez, a staunch environment advocate because of her anti-coal stance. Coal industry players argued that coal was still the cheapest source of electricity.
