DOE pushes for consumer-oriented policy initiatives

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing for consumer-oriented policy initiatives that will advance the Philippine renewable energy (RE) sector as part of the agency’s nine-point energy agenda.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the agency has been steering its efforts toward the successful attainment of the optimal energy mix that would help ease electricity rates for the Filipino people.

“The RE sector has evolved over the past several years, making it rife with various investment opportunities. In this regard, the DOE has formulated policies such as the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) and the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) to give it the much needed boost and jumpstart further RE activities,” Cusi said.

During his term, the RPS rules for on-grid, off-grid, and the GEOP have been developed and established to promote reliable and sustainable RE resources.

The RPS for on-grid areas , which took effect  Dec. 31, 2017, is a policy mechanism under Republic Act 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 mandating distribution utilities (DUs) and retail electricity suppliers to source or produce at least one percent of mandated participants’ net electricity sales of their power supply from eligible RE facilities.

On the other hand, the RPS rules for off-grid areas, which took effect Sept. 29, 2018, intends to increase the use of RE to optimize the power supply mix in off-grid areas that are usually served by expensive diesel plants.

The RPS will rationalize the efficient use of the universal charge for missionary electrification and improve self-efficiency in power generation through the integration of RE in the supply mix in off-grid and missionary areas. 

To date, there are a total of 12 information, education, and communication campaigns or roll-out programs conducted for the mandated participants, user-trainings on the simplified planning tool (SPT) to guide them in determining the optimal supply mix, and hands-on trainings on SPT for RPS on-grid and off-grid areas. 

Meanwhile, the GEOP took effect on Aug. 22, 2018 and is a voluntary RE policy mechanism which provides end-users the option to choose RE resources for their energy requirements.

To ensure the compliance and successful implementation thereof, the DOE has come out with template of the GEOP supply contract to serve as guidance to GEOP participants.

To further support the development of RE in the country, the DOE is set to conduct public consultations on the operating permit for RE suppliers.