Power distributor Manila Electric Co. asked government agencies to reconsider a decision mandating compliance to the renewable energy portfolio standards or RPS, which requires distribution utilities to secure a fraction of their power supply from eligible RE resources.
Meralco vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez told reporters mandating RPS “will reduce renewable energy developers’ incentive to be more competitive” to the detriment of consumers.
Meralco made the appeal to National Renewable Energy Board, the agency tasked to implement the Renewable Energy Law, which provides RPS as one of the incentives to renewable energy developers.
NREB came out with a draft circular on RPS. Meralco, however, pushed for the deferment of RPS until a comprehensive technical and economic study was conducted on the feasibility and necessity of of the policy mechanism.
“In recent months, we have seen RE projects become more price competitive, even without government imposed mandates,” Fernandez said. He said RPS would create an artificial sellers’ market to the detriment of the consumers and “disregards the least cost mandate of distribution firms.”
