THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is hoping to complete the draft pricing mechanism for the Green Energy Auction (GEA) this month, to stay on track for the third GEA round this year.
“We’re working on the draft for posting for public consultation within the month so that we can then contribute that to the auction process of DoE (Department of Energy),” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta told BusinessWorld after a House of Representatives hearing last week.
The price determination methodology (PDM) set by the ERC that will be adopted by bidders participating in the GEA.
Ms. Dimalanta said that PDM for GEA-4 is targeted for release by the fourth quarter.
The Department of Energy (DoE) will conduct GEA-3 before the end of the year. It will involve non-feed-in-tariff (Non-FIT) eligible renewable energy technologies such as geothermal, impounding hydro, and pumped-storage hydro.
GEA-3 also covers run-of-river hydro, a FIT-eligible renewable energy technology.
The DoE will also conduct GEA-4 this year which is designed to cover integrated renewable energy and energy storage systems. It is also considering the inclusion of liquefied natural gas capacities.
“We’re still discussing with DoE because they were initially thinking they’ll just use the old price. But since it will now be integrated with energy storage, you can’t use the same price. So, we need to come out with a new pricing for GEA-4,” she said.
The GEA program aims to promote renewable energy as a primary source of energy through competitive selection.
GEA was first conducted in 2022 and attracted a total of 1,996.93 megawatts (MW) worth of renewables proposals, while GEA-2 was held in 2023, with 3,440.756 MW awarded. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
