THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) deferred to end-August the deadline for the submission of the 2020-2029 distribution development plans (DDP) of all power utilities upon the inclusion of additional requirements, including documents on their relaxed power contracts during the lockdown period.
The deadline for filing the regulatory documents was moved from June 30.
In an advisory, Energy Undersecretary Emmanuel P. Juaneza said electric cooperatives must submit their decade-long development plans to the National Electrification Administration (NEA) on or before August 15 for review and consolidation. They must then file the documents to the DoE by Aug. 30.
Private power distributors and local government-owned utilities must submit the same documents to the DoE via the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau on the same deadline.
The DoE is now requiring all distribution utilities to add in their development plans a “normalized” forecast of coincident peak demand without considering the impact of the quarantine policies due to the pandemic “as this will be a critical consideration to the forecast input in the succeeding DDPs.”
However, they must consider and reflect the lockdown impact on their development plans for this year.
It also wanted utilities that invoked a force majeure claim in their contracts with suppliers amid the public health crisis to provide documents backing such a move. A force majeure event is an uncontrollable event that makes it impossible for entities to fulfill their obligations.
The submission of a distribution development plan is mandated by the Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
The document outlines the utility’s long-term and immediate objectives; strategies in attaining such objectives; a summary of its technical and economic analyses in demand forecast and system expansion; power supply contracts; and profile of their service areas. — Adam J. Ang
