The growing number of homes and business establishments with solar PV systems prompted the Sangguniang Bayan of Virac to conduct a hearing on the Net Metering Program of the national government recently.
According to Vice Mayor Lemuel Surtida, the hearing was part of the municipal council’s initiatives to encourage investments in alternative energy sources particularly in the light of the power crisis affecting the island.
“We invited representatives of the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative as well as the Virac municipal engineer, to clarify matters regarding the net metering process and how it could help ensure a more effective utilization of electricity,” he said.
During the meeting, however, FICELCO Technical Services Department (TSD) Manager Engr. Joe Neil T. Tuzon explained that Net Metering is not applicable to off-grid areas like Catanduanes.
Instead, what will prevail in small island grids are the rules on so-called Distributed Energy Resource (DER), which are the actual small-scale energy systems that generate and provide electricity from home back to the distribution line, that are similar to net metering.
Net Metering is governed by Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Resolution No. 9, Series of 2013, while DER rules are provided by Resolution No. 11, Series of 2022.
There are a number of differences between Net Metering and DER as far as use, capacity, exportation, and pricing of exported energy is concerned, Engr. Tuzon said.
While homes and establishments with renewable energy (RE) and non-renewable (Non-RE) energy can use all the energy produced and export the excess, those in off-grid areas like Catanduanes can use and export the excess from their renewable energy sources but not the non-RE production which is purely for own use.
Net metering also allows a capacity of up to 100 kilowatts for each facility while DER caps off-grid facilities at 1 megawatt.
The user can export up to the “name plate” capacity in net-metering but only up to 30 percent in DER areas.
As far as pricing of the exported energy is concerned, the energy exported to the grid under net metering is paid at 100% blended rate.
On the other hand, for DER in off-grid areas, the excess energy going back to the grid will be priced based on the Subsidized Approved Generation Rate (SAGR) and will not include distribution charges.
The payment based on readings from a bidirectional meter will be in the form of a reduction in the customer’s monthly electric bill, Engr. Tuzon disclosed.
To qualify for DER, the customer would have to secure a certification from FICELCO that the individual or establishment with Renewable DER is technically compliant with the Philippine Distribution Code and the Philippine Small Grid Guidelines (PSGG).
He or she must likewise submit a Renewable DER Supply Agreement with FICELCO as well as present a Certificate of Compliance from the ERC prior to tapping.
But to secure the supply agreement from the cooperative requires the applicant to file an application form together with a valid ID of the applicant and the technician who installed the DER system, the technical specification and certificates of renewable facilities, and location sketch and vicinity map as reference during inspection.
Also needed is an electrical plan signed by a Professional Electrical Engineer (PEE) and showing the DER connection, as well as the Certificate of Final Electrical Inspection (CFEI) issued by the local government unit.
Before it issues the Certificate of Compliance (COC) for the end-user consumption and exporting DER, the ERC requires a filled-up application form along with the documents from the cooperative, and payment of application fee ranging from P1,500 to P10,000 depending on the capacity applied for.
Processing of the application would take a maximum of 60 calendar days from completion of requirements.
The cooperative is crafting its own policy on DER based on the ERC resolution, with applications for DER export to be accepted once the policy is approved by the National Electrification Administration (NEA).
The FICELCO department manager said the cooperative has no data on the number of member-consumer-owners with installed solar PV systems but estimates that in the capital town of Virac, these solar PV users comprise about 30 percent of the MCOs in the municipality.
He surmised that there is a possibility that FICELCO would require registration of solar PV systems installed in homes and establishments in order to glean needed data on DER energy for use in forecasting future grid demand.