THE Department of Energy (DoE) said its target date to begin full commercial operations of the renewable energy market (REM) is Dec. 26.
In a circular dated Dec. 6, the DoE said that the RE market covers mandatory REM trading participants and REM generators, as well as voluntary REM generators.
Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 tasks the DoE with establishing the REM for the trading of RE Certificates (RECs), each of which is equivalent to one-megawatt-hour of RE, in compliance with the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) Rules.
The market serves as the venue for trading RECs allowing mandatory participants to comply with their RPS obligations.
RPS requires distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, and retail electricity suppliers to source an agreed portion of their energy supply from eligible RE resources, contributing to the growth of the RE industry.
In 2022, the DoE required on-grid power suppliers to expand the share of RE in their output to 2.52% by 2023 from 1% previously.
The RE market launched interim commercial operations in 2022 with the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. as registrar.
Upon full commercial operations, its functions as registrar will be transferred to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, which operates the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera