Energy circulars on uniform electricity bill, RE use inked
THE Department of Energy (DoE) has signed two circulars on setting a uniform monthly electricity bill format and on the use of renewable energy (RE) in areas not connected to the Philippines’ main power grid.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi signed the circulars on August 24 and these are scheduled for publication, Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said at the sidelines of PowerTrends 2018: The 13th International Exhibition and Conference on Energy Trends and Power Technologies at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Tuesday.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian (second from right) converses with Canadian Ambassador John Holmes and Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella (third and first from right, respectively) while looking at an item on display at PowerTrends 2018: The 13th International Exhibition and Conference on Energy Trends and Power Technologies at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Tuesday. PHOTO BY ANDREA DE LA CRUZ
The first, Department Circular DC2018-09-0026, or “Adopting Framework for Uniform Monthly Electricity Bill Format,” seeks to ensure greater transparency in how distribution utilities (DUs) bill their customers to protect the latter’s interest.
According to the circular, the bill should outline generation, transmission, distribution, and systems loss charges; subsidies/discounts; government taxes; universal charges; feed-in-tariff allowance (FiT-All); and others.
It should also make consumers understand its components more easily, including the status of their bill deposit, and the principal and interest earned.
If requested, consumers shall have access to their bill records and other related details, including receipts, within a reasonable period and without cost, the circular said.
Electronic copies of the consumer’s bill shall be made available and accessible through the DU’s website or any other electronic means if they asked for them, it added.
Meanwhile, Department Circular DC2018-08-0024, or “RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standards) Rules for Off-grid Areas,” aims to contribute to the growth of the RE sector by mandating industry players in off-grid and missionary areas to source a certain percentage of their power requirements from eligible RE resources.
These are biomass; waste-to-energy technology; wind, solar, ocean and geothermal energy; run-of-river and impounding hydroelectric power systems; and other globally accepted resources and technologies.
“It’s almost the same with the RPS for On-grid Areas, except the generation sector is the mandatory participant under this rule,” Fuentebella said.
This circular also seeks to rationalize the efficient use of the universal charge for missionary electrification and improve self-efficiency in generating electricity by integrating RE in the supply mix.
The minimum RE percentage share shall consider any or a combination of the following: generation of existing identified RE resources in the area, adoption of hybrid or distributed RE generation systems, stable operation of existing generating units and reliability of the grid with the entry of an RE generation facility, and the capacity corresponding to the above minimum RE generation.
The baseline RE requirement, including the annual incremental RE generation in every off-grid area, shall be determined by the department’s composite team.
Actual RE generation after 2018 shall not be lower than 1 percent.
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