THE Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted a formal appeal to the government of Indonesia to lift its coal export ban to the Philippines, saying this could jeopardize the Philippines’s coal-reliant power generation systems.
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said he has explained to Indonesian Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources Afirin Tasrif that the recent policy will be “detrimental to economies that currently rely on coal-fired power generation systems like the Philippines.”
Touted as the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, Indonesia decided to suspend exports for the entire month of January no thanks to pines is highly reliant on coal, as reflected in its monthly importation of 2.3 million metric tons of coal from Indonesia last year.
“Power generated from coal comprises about 60 percent of the country’s power demand,” he said.
Cusi also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to intercede and appeal through the Asean Cooperation framework.
Meeting with gencos
The DOE’s Electric Power Industry Management and Energy Resource Development Bureaus are scheduled to meet with the country’s coal power plant generators today, Tuesday, “to discuss potential strategies and the way forward.”
Sought for comment, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) Head of Utility Economics Lawrence S. Fernandez said the ban will affect three of the power distributor’s suppliers.
These are: San Buenaventura (455 MW), Quezon Power (440 MW) and Panay Energy (70 MW).
“According to our suppliers, they have sufficient supply of coal for at least two months,” Fernandez said. “In the coming couple of months, we are assured that there will be no supply disruption.”
He added that the Philippines may also opt to source coal from other countries aside from Indonesia, citing Australia, for instance.
However, Fernandez noted that there may be discrepancies in terms of pricing. “We have to wait and see what our generation suppliers will tell us as to what will happen to prices if they source from another [coal] supplier,” he said.