Coal-fired plants lament 'mark-up' in insurance premiums — DOE

Operators of coal-fired power plants are bearing the brunt of a mark-up in insurance premiums, prompting the Department of Energy (DOE) to call on insurance companies to give "reasonable" rates as coal remains an integral component of the country's energy mix.

"Premiums for insurance [have] increased especially for the coal-fired power plants," Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla told reporters at a press conference in Taguig City on Thursday.

Lotilla said he had a meeting with representatives of insurance companies to assure the insurance industry that "the regulatory framework is stable in the country" as far as coal-fired plants are concerned.

The Energy chief cited the moratorium on the development of new coal-fired power plants for the insurance sector's reluctance "in terms of providing reasonable [premium] rates for the power sector, particularly for coal-fired power plants that are existing."

"Since coal-fired power plants in the Philippines are part of the transition story, in other words, we still have coal-fired power plants that are not covered by the coal moratorium and that have come in," Lotilla said.

"We want them to realize that in our desire to have a more balanced [power mix]… in addressing the challenges of having affordable and accessible, reliable and resilient, as well as clean sources of energy, we have to take this into account," he said.

The Energy chief said coal still accounts for 63% of the country's power generation.

Come 2028, the Energy Department is projecting power producers to generate around 2,255 MW of additional coal supply as part of the government's target to make additional capacity reaching 11,000 MW.

Lotilla earlier said additional capacity would help address the estimated peak demand growth of around 5.3% from 2023 to 2028. — VDV, GMA Integrated News