60-day timeline for SIS approval pushed

MANILA, Philippines — Delays in the approval for system impact studies (SIS) of renewable energy projects are targeted to be resolved with the potential imposition of a 60-day timeline.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the government is looking to address challenges in the delays and reduce significantly the SIS approval process by setting a specific timeline.

Lotilla said a number of players in the sector have been complaining from delays of one and a half years to two years in the system impact studies alone.

“We need to improve for example on system impact studies because these have to be addressed upfront rather than later. The system impact studies are rather delayed,” the energy chief said.

“So these are the things that we want to be able to address so that the renewable energy developers will be able to focus on the rollout of their projects,” he said.

The SIS is an assessment conducted by the transmission provider to determine the adequacy of the transmission system and its capability to accommodate a request for power delivery service.

With an array of permits and licenses needed for renewable energy projects, the DOE is now in the process of integrating the remaining relevant agencies and entities into the Energy Virtual One-Stop (EVOSS) system platform.

The EVOSS was enacted in March 2019 to cut back on lengthy government processes and generate more energy investments in the country.

“The Executive Secretary is chairing this one so by the next meeting, for example, we will be looking at how the transmission concessionaire, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), is going to specify the 60-day approval of just the system impact studies,” Lotilla said.

“But first we hear them, we listen to them. You’re supposed to do this SIS in 60 days, but when does the 60-day period start?” he said.

With other jurisdictions adopting other approaches, Lotilla suggested smarter ways of doing things by tapping artificial intelligence and information technology.

“We want to work with the private sector. We want to work in a more efficient and more effective way. So this process is intended precisely to achieve that,” he said.

The government’s call for greater renewable energy use is being intensified with policies geared towards achieving its target of increasing to 35 percent the share of renewable energy in the country’s power generation mix by 2030 and further to 50 percent by 2040.

The DOE has has so far awarded 126 renewable energy contracts with potential capacity of 31,131.74 megawatts from July 2022 to June 2023.

Of these, 72 contracts cover solar projects, 30 are wind, 20 are hydro, two are biomass, one ocean and one geothermal.

Lotilla earlier said the government would see to it that transmission lines and related infrastructure, as well as SIS, are carried out at the pace required by the country’s power needs.