Power producers prefer GFI to oversee energy fund

The government should assign a government financial institution (GFI) to administer the feed-in tariff (FIT) fund, or the fee that consumers will pay renewable energy developers, the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc. (PIPPA) said Monday. PIPPA president Ernesto Pantangco said this request to have a GFI administer proceeds from the feed-in tariff came from industry players. The FIT offers guaranteed payments to renewable energy developers. Meanwhile, electricity users are “obliged" to pay a uniform peso-per-kilowatthour charge called the FIT-Allowance, which will be collected and placed in a fund administered by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). “The [Energy Regulatory Commission] rules say the settlement agent is NGCP. However, there's been some questions raised that these are public funds to be collected from consumers and NGCP is a private corporation," Pantangco said, explaining that concerns were raised on NGCP’s role as fund administrator. NGCP is controlled by local investors led by Henry Sy Jr. and its technical partner, the State Grid Corporation of China. PIPPA has sought an opinion on the matter from the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, Pantangco also said. A non-stock, non-profit organization, PIPPA includes members with a total installed capacity of 8,110 megawatts, such as the Korean Electric Power Corp., TeaM Energy Philippines, First Gen Corporation, Quezon Power Philippines Ltd., SN Aboitiz Power Corp., Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corporation, and AES Philippines. — PE/VS, GMA News