THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said Monday that it issued 113 certificates of compliance (CoCs) to power projects rated at 4,213 megawatts (MW) in the three months to September.
The certificates were issued to generation companies (GenCos), qualified end-users and entities with self-generation facilities and represent a pickup in the pace of approvals from the second quarter, when the agency, hampered by quarantine restrictions, approved only 21 CoCs.
“More than ever, we need to ensure that there will be sufficient power to keep the hospitals running round the clock, and that the students and workers who are studying and working online will get continuous electricity,” ERC Chairperson and CEO Agnes VST Devanadera said in a statement.
In the year to date, the ERC approved 37,817 CoCs, indicating that the third-quarter pickup in approvals remains well behind the pace recorded before the pandemic.
The ERC added in its Third-Quarter Monitoring report that no GenCos breached the market share limitations within each grid as well as the national grid.
“Nonetheless, the ERC also found some GenCos that failed to file or renew their respective CoCs within the prescribed period and were issued a Show Cause Order,” it wrote.
Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, a new generation company is only allowed to operate after securing a CoC from the ERC, as well as health, safety and environmental clearances from various government agencies. — Angelica Y. Yang