Energy Regulatory Commission eyes tighter rules on generation companies certificates

MANILA, Philippines - The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the country’s power sector watchdog, plans to apply stricter rules on the issuance of certificates of compliance (COC) to generation companies.

Under the proposed amendments of the COC guidelines, the ERC said all new facility to be added in the operations of a generation company should apply for COC.

“An expansion, conversion or repowering of any of the generation company’s facilities, or an acquisition of a new generation facility and any standby/back-up facilities being operated thereby shall require a separate COC for that particular facility,” the ERC said.

Standby/back-up refers to a generating facility with no blackstart capability and used for the main purpose of providing in-house electricity source for the power plant’s lighting and auxiliary equipments during a total system shutdown.

Black start, on the other hand, refers to the process of recovery from a total system blackout using a generating unit with the capability to start and synchronize with the system without an external power supply.

The ERC said all generation companies/facilities shall file for the renewal of a COC within 60 days prior to the expiration of the existing COC.

The commission, under the proposed new rules, should require for ocular technical inspection at least twice during the five-year life of the COC.

According to ERC, for the new generation companies/facilities, a technical inspection shall be conducted on the newly constructed facilities by the appropriate ERC personnel on or after commissioning of the facilities and in all cases prior to the commercial operation of the same.

A COC is issued to a genco or a self-generating facility (SGF) to certify its compliance to technical, financial and environmental standards that are specified in the ERC’s guidelines.

Pre-requisites to the grant of a COC include certificates or documents from other concerned government agencies such as Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Energy (DOE) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), among others.

The ERC recently granted a COC to the San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SCBI) for its bagasse-fired cogeneration power plant. 

A COC, the ERC said, is required before any genco can commence commercial operations.   

SCBI’s biofuel generator units have an 8.30 megawatt (MW) installed capacity while its two blackstart diesel engine generator sets have an installed capacity of 1.60 MW, for a total of 9.9 MW installed capacity.

These facilities are located at the San Carlos Ecozone in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.