FIT rate set at P0.1240 per kWh

The Energy Regulatory Commission has provisionally approved the application of National Transmission Corp. to collect a feed-in tariff allowance of P0.1240 per kilowatt-hour from power consumers this year.

ERC said in a decision dated Feb. 16, 2016 the FIT-All collection would start in the succeeding billing period, following the receipt of the order by TransCo.

FIT All is a uniform charge billed on all on-grid consumers who are supplied with electricity through the distribution or transmission network. It will be used to pay renewable energy projects amounting to P6.925 billion, of which the bulk will be for wind projects at P2.788 billion, solar at P2.591 billion, biomass at P1.263 billion and hydro at P282.516 million.

The regulator said after computing the forecast renewable energy generation and the feed-in tariff rates while maintaining and adopting the rest of the parameters used by TransCo in the feed-in tariff computation, the regulator arrived at the rate of P0.1240 per kWh.

ERC said it updated the list of forecast eligible renewable energy plants based on current records to cover those with existing and approved certificates of compliance as FIT-eligible plant and those with pending applications for the issuance of COCs.

“The commission, conforms, based on the information provided by the grid operator and representatives of these RE plants, that these entities with pending applications of COC as FIT-eligible plants, are almost certain to become operational before the March 15, 2016 deadline set for the availment of solar FIT 2,” it said.

ERC said it took cognizance of the appropriate commercial operations date of the plans “to avoid any deficit occurring in the funds should these plants remain unaccounted for.”

TransCo sought the regulators approval in December to collect a  feed-in tariff allowance or FIT-All of P0.1025 per kWh from consumers starting this year but the ERC approved a higher rate based on certain assumptions.

“We assessed the list of the existing FIT COCs [certificate of compliance] and those gencos with pending FIT COC applications which are the most certain to become operational before the March 15 deadline. The list totaled 1,054 MW. Using this capacity, we computed the FIT-All to be P0.1240 per kWh,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.

FiT All is set by the ERC on an annual basis, taking into account the forecast annual required revenue of the eligible renewable energy plants, previous year’s under or over recoveries, administration costs and forecasted annual electricity sales.

TransCo asked ERC that after due notice and hearing, a permanent approval be granted to implant the FIT-All rate for 2016 of P0.1025 per kWh “computed for RE project with at least nomination from DOE for eligibility under the FIT system.”