BENECO’s Man-asok mini-hydro powerplant receives DOE endorsement

BENECO’s Man-asok mini-hydro powerplant receives DOE endorsement

DOE grants the certificate of endorsement as Feed-In-Tariff (FIT)-eligible power plant to Benguet Electric Cooperative’s (BENECO) Man-asok Mini-Hydro Power Plant (HPP).

The Department of Energy (DOE) issued the “Certificate of Endorsement (COE) Under the Feed-in-Tariff System for the 3.240 MW Man-asok Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) COE-FIT No. H2022-10-019” last November 25, 2022.

The COE was signed by no less than the Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla.

DOE certified that Man-asok HPP has complied with the requirements under Republic Act 9513 known as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. BENECO’s compliance made it eligible to operate under the FIT System, as well as its capability to produce an average of 14.688 GWh annual generation.

As FIT-eligible, Man-asok HPP’s generated power gets a guaranteed price for 20 years for the electricity it will generate.

Under the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008, renewable energy developers are encouraged with the Feed-In-Tariff Allowance or FIT-ALL to develop more RE plants.

These RE plants must be run on clean or renewable sources like water (hydro) run of river, solar and biomass.

Eligible renewable energy developers can withdraw from the fund managed by the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo.) of the government. The FIT-ALL is collected from all electricity consumers all over the country by the DUs and remitted to Transco.

At the moment, the FIT-rate as determined by the Energy Regulatory Commission is P5.9 for hydro developers, according to Power Generation Operation Department (PGOD) manager Engr. Artemio Bacoco, Man-asok HPP can generate 10 million kWh annually.

DOE recognized that BENECO’s Man-asok HPP has been in operation since July 1, 2022. “The plant is hereby endorsed for the purpose of the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance (COC) by the DOE authorizing said plant to operate as FIT-eligible plant subject to the terms and conditions attached to the COC, which include compliance with the Philippine Grid Code (PGC) and the duration of the FIT among others,” the DOE said.

BENECO General Manager Engr. Melchor Licoben expressed optimism that with the latest DOE certification, “our electric cooperative can already maximize our Man-asok HPP the soonest to benefit our consumer-owners.”

Due to the pandemic, the commissioning and testing of Man-asok HPP was delayed. BENECO had to wait also for the representatives of its Austrian supplier Gugler Water Turbines.

“BENECO waited for Gugler’s go-signal. Gugler’s representatives had to fly in from Austria to inspect and gave their certification (report) that the equipment was installed in accordance to Gugler’s standards and specifications,” Bacoco recalled.

Gugler Water Turbines GmbH issued its Official Certificate of Commissioning last April 23, 2022, and the Commissioning Date was June 13, 2022

Gugler’s technicians also trained BENECO engineers on how to operate the power plant April 2022. – Laarni S. Ilagan

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