Gov’t unveils 2023 power plan
ENERGY SUPPLY Workers work on a transmission station of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in Navotas. —FILE PHOTO
Malacañang on Sunday said ensuring an unhampered supply of energy alongside the promotion and utilization of renewable energy will be the government’s top energy priorities this year.
Citing the year-end report of the Department of Energy (DOE), the Palace said the Marcos administration’s major plans include updating the Philippine Energy Plan, pursuing measures to ensure energy supply during critical periods and pushing for the continued development of alternative fuel.
The DOE, in collaboration with the Energy Regulatory Commission, is also set to develop the framework for new and emerging renewable energy technologies, including offshore wind, waste-to-energy, expanded rooftop solar program, as well as ocean and tidal-stream energy.
Malacañang said that from July 1 to Dec. 14, 2022, the DOE awarded 41 renewable energy service contracts with a potential capacity of 9.2 gigawatts (GW). Of this, around 6.2 GW of equivalent capacity will come from offshore wind (OSW) service contracts.
The DOE also issued 18 certificates of award to the winning bidders of the first Green Energy Auction Program, with an aggregate capacity of 1,866.93 megawatts (MW).
The Palace also said the DOE increased the annual percentage of Renewable Portfolio Standards for on-grid areas from 1 percent to 2.52 percent beginning 2023.
Renewable energy projects
The department also started preferential dispatch of all renewable energy-generating units in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
The DOE also allowed 100 percent foreign capital in renewable energy projects by amending the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, that had previously limited foreign ownership of renewal energy projects to 40 percent.
The DOE has also endorsed to the Office of the President a draft executive order that would amend the regulatory framework for the development of OSW.
For this year, the DOE will continue its energy resource development and cooperate with the National Power Corp. in the hybridization of diesel generating facilities, considering that 89 percent of the energy generation and capacity mix in off-grid areas came from oil-based sources.
The Palace said the use of nuclear power was also an important part of the “energy mix” that the DOE is eyeing.
It said the DOE would update the existing Nuclear Road Map to guide both the Nuclear Energy Program Implementing Organization and the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee in addressing the challenges of the country’s nuclear energy program. INQ
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