By Joann Villanueva
MANILA – The government is expected to save around P2 billion annually from reduced energy subsidies in off-grid areas in Antique and Mindoro once a proposed submarine power cable project by DMCI Power Corporation (DPC) is completed this year.
In a recent press briefing, DPC President Antonino Gatdula said the company is awaiting regulatory approval for the 20-kilometer, P3-billion project that will connect Semirara Island in Antique to Mindoro.
Gatdula said the construction of the submarine cable would help ensure sufficient power capacity and improve electricity reliability in the two areas, which continue to face power supply challenges. The company, he added, plans to tap foreign experts for the implementation of the project.
At present, DPC operates a 19.7-megawatt bunker fuel-powered facility in Oriental Mindoro and a 12.5-MW wind power project in Semirara Island, Caluya, Antique. Gatdula said they have also submitted a proposal to put up solar-, wind-, and coal power plants in Semirara to eventually stop using bunker fuel and diesel in operating their power plants.
“When we computed the savings, based on the current prices of diesel and bunker, savings for the UCME (Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification) is not less than P2 billion per year because we will displace the bunker and diesel. Coal is cheaper and available 24/7,” he said.
UCME is among the fees paid by power consumers in the country and is used to subsidize electricity in areas that are not yet connected to the national grid, including far-flung mountainous communities and island provinces.
It is collected by the distribution utilities from end-users and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) from transmission customers, and remitted to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM). It is what the government pays to renewable energy (RE) developers that put up power plants in off-grid areas.
Gatdula said the proposed solar power plant will not displace the agricultural lots “because Semirara is an industrial area.”
“The DOE has realized the benefit (of the project) so we’re working on the submarine cable,” he said. (PNA)