House leaders are urging the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to fast-track the approval of the applications to build power plants in the country.
House Minority Leader Rep. Danilo E. Suarez of the Third District of Quezon said new power plants are needed to help generate much-needed power baseload for the country.
With the ERC’s “conflicting” application process, Suarez said the country might lose the opportunity to address the alarming thinning power reserve.
He said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) last month issued five yellow alerts, a situation when reserve power falls below the required level.
“Remember the dark days when we had to buy and commission gas-powered barges? It is crucial for the energy body to give the green light to applicants that complied with the regulatory requirements the authority to construct their power plants,” said Suarez after the House Committee on Energy hearing on the reported Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) “midnight deals” on Wednesday.
For his part, Rep. Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco of the Lone District of Marinduque, chairman of the House Committee on Energy, said the country’s energy demand is increasing at 4.9 percent, or equivalent to 600 megawatts (MW) additional capacity required per year.
He added 20 percent of the country’s existing power plants are more than 30 years old, which may now have some reliability issues.
“We cannot keep delaying these projects as we need stability of energy supply. If there are shutdowns by these old plants, that will mean a spike in prices,” Velasco said.
“We need to stop pointing fingers and putting malice, and already start these new projects,” he added.
Delay
Suarez also asked the ERC to explain the delays in the approval of the power-supply agreements (PSAs) of Atimonan One, a coal-fired power plant in Atimonan, Quezon.
He said Atimonan One submitted the application in 2012, which is one of the seven PSAs entered into with Meralco, but still being evaluated by ERC.
The PSA is a regulatory requirement to construct power plants, of generation companies.
“We have to quickly resolve this and be considerate with investors; time is cost if we continue to delay the approval process,” Suarez said.
Earlier, Meralco told lawmakers in a hearing that there were actually more than 90 PSAs that were filed by different distribution utilities and electric cooperatives following the ERC resolution restating the effectivity of the competitive selection process (CSP). However, some of these PSAs were being questioned by lawmakers.
Meralco PSAs at the ERC include power supply agreements on the construction of coal-fired power plants with the following: Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (225 MW); Atimonan One Energy Inc. (1,200 MW); Saint Raphael Power Generation Corp. (400 MW); Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. (528 MW); Mariveles Power Generation Corp. (528 MW); Panay Energy Development Corp. (70 MW); and Global Luzon Energy Development Corp. (600 MW).