ERC renews license of Aboitiz unit

Manila, Philippines - The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has renewed the license of Aboitiz-led AdventEnergy firm to operate as a retail electricity supplier (RES).

It also awarded a new RES license to PRISM Energy Inc., also of the Aboitiz Group, making it the country’s 18th RES.

“The ERC realizes the important role a RES plays in the electric power industry,” said ERC chairperson and CEO Zenaida G. Cruz-Ducut.

Cruz-Ducut added that the regulator would “see to it that all RES license applicants are fully compliant with the technical and financial standards.”

In a statement, the regulator said AdventEnergy Inc. was able to prove its technical and financial capabilities to operate and manage as RES.

Given the license, AdventEnergy would be allowed to sell, broker, market, and aggregate electricity to customers with a monthly average peak demand of at least one megawatt (MW) upon implementation of the retail competition and open access scheme (RCOA).

“The ERC will constantly monitor AdventEnergy’s adherence to the terms and conditions attached to the renewed RES License,” Cruz-Ducut said.

Cruz-Ducut said the ERC would periodically look into the technical and financial fitness of AdventEnergy.

Retail electricity suppliers tailor their supply packages to provide customers with the best value based on their power consumption profile and other preferences.

AdventEnergy registered with the Security and Exchange Commission in August 2008, with a primary purpose of being a retail energy supplier and energy consolidator.

AdventEnergy, the RES company of listed Aboitiz Power Corp., was originally issued a three-year RES license in July 2009.

It will serve “the specific needs of contestable customers operating inside special economic zones,” ERC said.

As envisioned in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, RCOA would introduce competition in the retail supply segment of the electric power industry.

Under the RCOA that would be implemented late this year, customers can freely choose their electricity service provider. This means that electricity end-users with an average monthly peak demand of one megawatt can choose their electricity service provide.

The ERC granted the new license after AdventEnergy passed the financial and technical considerations.

Specifically, the company should be able to separately handle commercial and technical operations upon the commencement of the RCOA.

AdventEnergy should also have the ability to enter into any necessary access or interconnection contracts with one or more distribution utilities and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the ERC awarded a RES license to PRISM.

“PRISM can supply electricity to the contestable electricity market,” ERC said.

PRISM expects to capture 60 percent of the contestable customers of the Visayan Electric Co., which operates in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Naga and the municipalities of Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanillla and San Fernando in Metro Cebu.

PRISM is 60-percent owned by Aboitiz Power Corp. and 40-percent owned by Vivant Power Corp.

The company has identified 19 plants that employ technologies in wind, biomass, coal, and geothermal to generate electricity covered in its power procurement plan.