THE SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet Inc.’s (SNAPBI) 104.55-MW Ambuklao three-unit hydroelectric power plant (HEPP) can now operate commercially after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) issued a Certificate of Compliance (COC) for the project.
The COC allowed SNAPBI to operate the hydropower plant in barangay Ambuklao, Bokod, Benguet, for five years. It is powered by the water resources of the Upper Agno River.
“The ERC salutes SNAPBI for the recommissioning of the Ambuklao HEPP previously owned by the National Power Corp. By doing so, it added another crown jewel to the renewable-energy [RE] resources of the country. It is hoped that SNAPBI will do its best to sustain a viable operation for the benefit of the electricity end-users,” ERC Chairman and CEO Zenaida G. Cruz-Ducut said in a statement issued on Monday.
The COC is a prerequisite to the commercial operation of a power plant as it attests the adherence to the environmental, technical and financial standards set forth in the Rules for the Issuance of COC for Generation Companies/Facilities (Revised Rules). It also certifies that the owner of the generation facility is compliant to the cross-ownership and market-share limitations periodically set by the ERC to safeguard electricity consumers from abuse of market power by the market participants.
Generation entities engaging in power generation must also pass the rigid standards specified in the Grid Code and the Distribution Code promulgated by the ERC to ensure stable, reliable, secure and quality supply of electricity. The ERC also ensures that an applicant for a COC is compliant to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) Rules and other rules and regulations that govern the operation of a generation facility.
SNAPBI, an independent power producer will trade the power generated by the Ambuklao HEPP through the WESM. It is directly connected to the Luzon Grid and supplies power to customers in the said grid through 13.8 KV/230 KV substations.
Construction of the Ambuklao HEPP actually started in 1950 and it began commercial operation in 1956. It was privatized in 2008.
ERC said a centavo for every kilowatt-hour of the total electricity sales of SNAPBI is set aside as financial benefit to the community that hosts its generation facility, in compliance with the requirement provided for in Section 2 (a) (ee) (ii), Article III of the Revised Rules in the issuance of a COC. ERC added that 50 percent of this amount goes to the Electrification Fund (EF); 25 percent is allocated for Development and Livelihood Fund; and the remaining 25-percent is earmarked for the Reforestation, Watershed Management, Health and or Environmental Enhancement Fund.
Meanwhile, Sen. Edgardo J. Angara reiterated anew his call for the government to invest in developing and promoting RE systems in the country amid the continuing rise in fuel prices and calls to repeal the oil-deregulation law.
“Putting caps on increases during emergency situations or lifting the VAT on oil may only momentarily bring down the price of fuel. But costs will inevitably rise given that worldwide supply is dwindling fast.
The real issue that needs to be addressed is our persistent dependence on foreign-sourced fossil fuels for our energy needs,” Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, said.
Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that oil prices will rise by 30 percent within the next three years.
IEA economist Fatih Birol said the world’s crude-oil production peaked in 2006, and the existing fields are declining so sharply.
