THE Department of Energy (DoE) has authorized two more suppliers of renewable energy (RE) to participate in the government’s green energy option program (GEOP), bringing up the number of eligible firms to 12.
In an announcement on Thursday, the DoE said that Shell Energy Philippines, Inc. (SEPH) and Green Core Geothermal, Inc. (GCGI) can now participate in the GEOP. SEPH is a retail electricity supplier of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., while GCGI is owned by Energy Development Corp.
The two firms join 10 renewable energy suppliers that were previously announced as qualified to join the program, and were awarded GEOP operating permits by the DoE.
Launched in 2018, the GEOP is a voluntary policy mechanism that allows users consuming at least 100 kilowatts of power to source their supply from qualified retail energy suppliers that source electricity from renewables.
Sources at EDC said on Thursday, GCGI will be allocating over 200 megawatts (MW) in capacity for the program. They added that the Luzon-based Bacman Geothermal, Inc., which earlier received clearance to participate in the GEOP, will allot 130 MW.
BusinessWorld reached out to Pilipinas Shell on the planned attributable capacity of SEPH for the GEOP, but the firm has yet to comment as of deadline time.
In April last year, the DoE issued guidelines for suppliers that wanted to participate in the program.
The department circular, “guidelines governing the issuance of operating permits to renewable energy suppliers under the green energy option program” states that RE suppliers covered by the program must:
– Comply with the terms and conditions of the GEOP operating permit;
– Submit annual reports to the DoE’s Renewable Energy Management Board on or before Jan. 30;
– Ensure that the total power from its facilities are greater or equal to the total kilowatt hour sold to its consumers;
– Register in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and with the Central Registration Body before supplying power to end users; and
– Register with the RE Registrar.
The GEOP gives more end users the chance to access clean power from qualified RE firms. — Angelica Y. Yang