Philippines DoE wants to fast track power projects

• 7 years ago (2017-03-13)
• David Flin

Asia 898 Transmission 195

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The Philippine Department of Energy (DoE) has proposed a threshold of $70 million for power generation ventures to be declared as projects of national significance, simplifying the permitting and regulatory process. However, the DoE said the cost of the project will only be a secondary consideration under the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP).

Felix Fuentebella, Energy Undersecretary, said: “It’s the PEP and any of the following.” He emphasised the plan’s precedence over the list of qualifications for a project to be declared of national significance. He said: “The PEP is the summary of all the plans that we have. It includes all the sub-plans covering power plant development, transmission, distribution, household electrification, as well as plans in securing petroleum products, energy resource development, and utilisation.”

The DoE previously announced the other qualifications to include the projects’ contribution to the country’s economic development, consequential economic inputs, and positive impact on the environment, which the DoE said should be “significant.”

Alfonso Cusi, DoE Secretary, said that among the key measures is a provision that will delegate to to the DoE the responsibility of issuing environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. He said completing a power project takes around five years, which should be cut to the shortest possible time.

Among the projects that Cusi said should qualify as nationally significant is the construction of a transmission facility that will connect the Mindanao grid to the Visayas grid, which is already linked to Luzon.