National Transmission Corp. will file on Thursday an application with the Energy Regulatory Commission for a feed-in tariff allowance, or the per kilowatt-hour rate charged to consumers for the use of renewable energy, amounting to P0.2291 per kilowatt-hour starting 2017.
TransCo is currently collecting P0.1240 per kWh from consumers under the FIT-Allowance line item in the power bills. The rate will be increased to P0.2291 per kWh, if approved by ERC.
The amount represents payment to eligible renewable energy developers totaling P16.488 billion, including under-recoveries in 2016.
TransCo also asked ERC to make the approval of the rate permanent, “or in the alternative, such other amount as may be found by the Commission to be consistent with the FIT-All guidelines and on the basis of new and updated information not… available to the applicant at the time of the present application.”
TransCo mainly used the most updated list of renewable energy projects that are projected to be eligible in the feed-in tariff system from 2014 to 2018 as provided by the Energy Department.
TransCo also tapped its own database containing historical information and the available submission of the developers on actual or forecast generation.
The state-owned firm added the department’s list provided the best estimate of the timing of the renewable energy plants but it did not give preemptive right to the identified projects to be counted under the final feed-in tariff eligible projects, not does it limit the payment to them.
The company limited the determination of the 2017 FIT-All rate to include eligible capacities up to the installation targets set by the department, namely 500 megawatts for solar, 400 MW for wind, 250 MW for hydro and 250 MW for biomass.
TransCo said it included projects that reached at least 80 percent electromechanical completion, which meant they are certain to operate within the period under consideration.
TransCo said in the application that the biggest renewable energy generation in 2017 was expected to come from wind, followed by biomass, solar and hydro.
It included in the application P3.576 billion worth of under-recovery payment that will be charged to the 2017 FIT-All rate.
TransCo said it applied for justP0.2291 per kWh, instead of its other computation of P0.2481 per kWh due to the completion status of the power plants.
