Manila, Philippines- Posibleng maudlot ang opisyal na pagbubukas ng auction makaraang magpahayag ng pagkadismaya ang Department of Energy sa mababang turnout sa second round ng Green Energy Auction Program bidding.
Ito’y makaraang ihayag ng ilang renewable energy executives na imposibleng makapagsumite sila ng functional bid bunsod ng umano’y hindi makatotohanang rate ceiling sa price cap ng Energy Regulatory Commission para sa GEA-2.
“The framework of the auction is to set a price cap and bid below the price cap. It seems, however, that the regulators are setting a floor price,” pahayag ni Tetchi Cruz-Capellan, chief executive officer ng Sun Asia Energy.
Hinikayat nila ang ERC na seryosong suriin ang tariff rates sa GEA Program.
“The rates are not reflecting the realities of the current demand and supply of electricity in the country, nor is it encouraging developers to build,” dagdag nito.
Sa isinagawang bidding nitong Lunes, tanging 3,580.76 megawatts ng committed capacities, o 30% ng kabuuang 11,600 MW na available ang natanggap ng DOE.
Bunsod nito, mahigit 8,000 MW ang unsubscribed capacity.
Sa ilalim ng GEA-2, dapat available na ang commited capacities ng winning bidders sa taong 2024 hanggang 2026.
“The ERC pegged the prices for GEA-2 at P4.4043 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for ground-mounted solar, P4.8738 per kWh for rooftop solar, P5.3948 per kWh for floating solar, P5.8481 per kWh for onshore wind, P5.4024 per kWh for biomass and P6.2683 per kWh for biomass waste-to-energy,” ayon sa ulat.
Kaugnay nito, sinabi ni Atty. Jose M. Layug, Jr., co-chairman ng European Chamber of Commerce’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Committee, na ang pag-set ng presyo sa naturang level ay posibleng mag-expose sa potential bidders sa pagkalugi.
“We should look into the setting of the Green Energy Auction Reserve prices for each RE technology that may expose potential bidders to risk of financial losses, including comparative price levels in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and other retail markets. Also, developers should be given a practical timeframe to sufficiently prepare for the bids,” diin nito.
“As we have seen during the Feed-in-Tariff regime, price is ultimately the most significant factor in endeavors like this, so it should be set at a level that is most optimal to all stakeholders. Nevertheless, we laud the efforts of the DOE in the aggressive transition to renewables with the ambitious RE installation projects, and we fully support their efforts to push for more RE capacities,” paliwanag ni Layug.
Umaasa naman si Cappellan na hindi na ito mauulit sa mga darating na bidding procedures.
“We are hopeful that ERC will listen to the developers and seriously consider what the market is telling them — that their price cap is way below the current market realities,” paliwanag nito.
Kaugnay nito, binanggit ni Cappellan na ang Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance ay nagpadala ng comprehensive study sa ERC na nagsasaad ng maayos na framework para sa green energy tariff structures subalit nabigo itong makumbinsi ang regulatory body.
“We believe that for the industry to deliver the ambitious target of the President, there has to be an honest-to-goodness realization of the current market prices. Without this, future GEAP will fail to entice developers,” pagtatapos ni Capellan.
Habang isinusulat ito, hindi pa naglalabas ng pahayag si Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla kung available pa sa rebidding ang 8,000 MW ng unsubscribed capacity. RNT
