Energy Players in the PH Push for Higher Cap on Renewable Sources

On Tuesday, key players and stakeholders in the country’s energy industry urged the government for a higher quota on contracted renewable energy. This push is aimed at increasing the investment opportunities for sustainable electricity sources as the country continues its transition.

Meralco’s president and CEORay Espinosa expressed during a membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines that the private sector has sufficient capital to invest in renewable energy, but clearer guidance from the government is needed.

“Today, there is good law and regulation that impose the RPS (renewable portfolio standards) on institutions but it’s at a measly one percent,” said Espinosa.

“There had been talks about increasing that one percent to 2.5 percent which would have been great, good already but we could actually make it even higher,” he added.

Under the RPS, power distributors are mandated to increase the production of energy sourced from renewable sources and alternatives to traditional fuel. These include wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal.

“We want to make a higher commitment but we are capped with the one percent. We don’t want a situation where renewables have to, for instance, fight it out with other fuels and then bring down chaos in the competitive selection process. Renewables should be given their space to compete,” Espinosa elaborated.

Atty. Jose Layug from the Developers of Renewable Energy for AdvanceMent (DREAM) echoed Espinosa’s sentiments. “I fully agree that we should increase the RPS target.”

Atty. Layug was among the people who pushed for the one percent cap in the past. However, he now believes the costs of RE have set the stage for bigger shares for sustainable sources of energy.

Source: ABS CBN