Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella (right) of the Department of Energy explains the need for standard pricing for renewable energy to encourage more investments in indigenous power sources. With him are National Renewable Energy Board chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta (middle) and Renewable Energy Management Board Director Mylene Capongcol (left). | Irene R. Sino Cruz
CEBU CITY — The green energy pricing program proposed by the Department of Energy aims to encourage investments and financing for renewable energy program.
The government aims to increase the use of renewable energy by promoting the efficient and cost-effective commercial application by providing fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, according to the proposed DOE circular.
The program aims to establish the right pricing for renewable energy,” said DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella.
Fuentebella and other DOE officials conducted a consultation on the proposal with power industry stakeholders in the Visayas and Mindanao held Wednesday at Bai Hotel in Mandaue City.
According to Fuentebella, the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) headed by chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta had prepared the draft circular on the rules and guidelines governing the green energy pricing program to help promote renewable projects.
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Dimalanta explained that the program would enable the RE developers and suppliers to enter into bilateral contracts with the power distributors and electric cooperatives but at a price approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
She said that this would ensure that RE developers would have a ready market and the ensure viability of the project.
With this mechanism in place, investors in RE projects could also access bank financing , she added.
Financing institutions require figures that would show the viability of a project before they extend loans, which would be addressed by the pricing mechanism.
This program would also benefit end users because there would be more renewable energy and stable power rates since the prices would be set within the contract period, Dimalanta said.
According to Fuentebella, they conducted the public consultation to enable stakeholders to provide inputs for more improved rules and guidelines.
Renewable energy comes from indigenous sources, especially in the Visayas where there would be more renewable energy plants, he added.
Mylene Capongcol, director of Renewable Energy Management Bureau, said RE projects in the Visayas would include geothermal, solar and biomass.
Fuentebella said they hoped to get feedbacks from different stakeholders by the end of November./dbs