ERC studying possible extension of suspended FIT-All collection

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is studying if extending the suspended collection of the Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) would still be viable.

In a press chat, ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta told reporters that the agency is still analyzing the submissions by National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), which administers the FIT-All Fund.

“We are checking if we can extend or if we can still extend…but, right now, I haven’t seen the simulations,” Dimalanta said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“We should be announcing it this month as the suspension expires in August,” she said.

In February, the ERC extended the suspension of the collection of FIT-All until August this year. 

To recall, the power industry regulator suspended FIT-All collection from December 2022 to February 2023 to ease the burden of consumers amid high inflation.

The FIT-All is a uniform charge imposed on all on-grid electricity consumers, and is a component of the electricity bill, that ensures the development and promotion of renewable energy (RE) in the country.

The prevailing FIT-All rate is P0.0364 per kWh.

With the suspension of FIT-All collection until August, a typical household consuming 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in a month enjoys a reduction of about P7.28 in their monthly bills.

Distribution utilities (DUs), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), and retail electricity suppliers (RES) serve as collecting agents of FIT-All and remit it to the FIT-All Fund, administered by the TransCo.

The FIT-All Fund covers payments to renewable energy developers under the FIT-All mechanism, aimed at spurring the development of emerging renewable power sources such as wind, solar, run-of-river hydro, and biomass facilities. 

In its earlier resolution, the ERC said it found the FIT-All Fund balance to be at a “healthy status” to cover the FIT-All payment requirements.

Dimalanta, during the press chat, however, said that “the fund is being used up.”

“So we will check until when it can last,” she said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News