THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) ordered electric cooperatives (ECs) to follow the guidelines stated in its Renewable Energy Development Plan (REDP) to help the Energy department reach its goal of securing a 35% share of renewables in the power mix by 2030.
In a memorandum issued by NEA OIC-Administrator Sonia B. San Diego on Sept. 1, the agency told ECs to follow the REDP so they can “properly” schedule the sourcing of renewable energy (RE) to prevent the over-contracting of power supply while complying with regulations.
The general instructions of the plan read: “To avoid over contracting of PSA (power supply agreements), RECs (renewable energy certificates) shall only be purchased from RE Market and/or sourced from eligible RE plants including EC-Owned embedded Generation Facilities; (the) Green Energy Option Program (GEOP); and RE Facilities for own use.”
The plan provides a template that guides ECs in sourcing and scheduling renewables for their power requirements.
NEA will be holding a virtual Zoom workshop on Sept. 10 at 10:00 a.m. on using the REDP’s template.
BusinessWorld reached out to NEA through its public affairs office for details of the development plan, but the agency has not replied as of deadline time.
A circular issued by the Department of Energy in 2017 said the department aspires to attain a 35% share of RE in the country’s generation mix by 2030. This is the same goal it has laid out in the current version of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), which covers the years 2011 to 2030.
In February, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said that the latest draft of the NREP proposes higher RE targets of 37.3% by 2030 and 55.8% by 2040. — Angelica Y. Yang
