Government asked to explain cap on use of renewable energy resources

MANILA, Philippines – Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Teddy Casiño said yesterday he would ask the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) to explain the supposed cap on the use of renewable energy (RE) sources, particularly on solar power.

In a press statement, Casino noted the DOE’s 50-megawatt (MW) limit on solar energy generation for three years is 50 percent lower than the 100-MW target recommended by the (NREB).

This volume is only 18 percent of the 269 MW originally presented by the DOE to President Aquino during the launch of the National Renewable Energy Program last June.

Targeted allocations for RE are based on feed-in-tariff (FIT), a fixed amount guaranteed by the government to renewable power producers for a number of years.

The FIT for solar has been set at P17.95 per kilowatthour (kwh) but the rate impact when divided among all consumers will be only an additional P0.028 per kWh on their monthly bills.

On the FIT, Casiño said the government should remain open for discussions, facts, figures and simulations from all stakeholders to make an informed decision.

“It is a legitimate concern, but we have not yet explored the full range of assumptions from industry players and consumers,” he said.

Casiño said electricity rates in the country are high because of the price of onerous contracts between the government and independent power producers and the stranded debts of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) which are being amortized to every consumer.

“If the government solves these issues, the price of FIT will hardly be felt,” he said. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star)