SMPC says unit to appeal ERC fines
SEM-CALACA Power Corp. (SCPC) will appeal the fines imposed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), its parent firm said on Thursday, after the regulator ruled that the power plant’s units breached the allowed unplanned outages.
“While SCPC has not received a copy of the official resolution, it intends to appeal this Decision by filing a Motion for Reconsideration with the ERC,” Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) said in a disclosure to the exchange on Thursday.
SMPC said the ERC on Jan. 28 posted on its website a decision on two cases involving SCPC as respondent.
It said SCPC was fined P337,200 for allegedly exceeding the number of allowed unplanned outages by 5.24 days for its power plant’s first unit; and P3,975,600 for allegedly exceeding the number of allowed unplanned outages by 96.2 days for the second unit.
In its decision, the ERC said SCPC violated Article 5 of the commission’s Resolution No. 10, Series of 2020 after its power plant’s units 1 and 2 in Calaca, Batangas exceeded the allowable unplanned outages for a pulverized coal-fired power plant per generation unit per year.
The ERC decision also cited Resolution No. 21, series of 2016, which measures power reliability via frequency, duration, and magnitude of adverse effects on the electric supply.
Frequency served as the basis of the imposable penalty, while duration and magnitude are given the percentages of 40% and 60%, respectively, in consideration of their significance to reliability, the commission explained in its decision. — M.C. Lucenio