The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc. (PIPPA) assured its members are complying with the government mandated 30-day coal inventory levels amid Indonesia’s coal export ban.
PIPPA said the ban is seen to have a “short-term effect on the Philippine coal supply” as the group is optimistic it will be lifted soon.
Reuters reported yesterday Indonesian authorities agreed to the dispatch of 14 coal vessels as soon as they get permits from mining and transport authorities — a move seen as the first clear step to relax the export ban.
However, the report said tIndonesia’s transport ministry is yet to allow any export-bound ship with coal to leave ports as of yesterday morning pending formal directive from the energy ministry.
PIPPA urged government to lead efforts in encouraging the sourcing of coal from alternative sources.
“We hope the government will prioritize parallel discussions with its Indonesian counterparts regarding the issue and explore alternative measures, such as the removal of import tariff for other coal sources,” said PIPPA in a statement.
“Given that it is our business to produce electricity, it is also in our best interest to continue operations even during the duration of the coal export ban in Indonesia. We remain committed and shall find ways to procure from alternative sources to enable our plants to generate electricity,” PIPPA added.
Reuters in the report said the Indonesian government will review today if and when the ban will be scrapped or if it will be gradually eased to comply with the country’s domestic market obligation (DMO) rules.
Under Indonesia’s current DMO rules, coal miners are required to sell 25 percent of their output to the local market at a maximum price of $70 per ton for domestic power plants.
In 2021, the Philippines sourced an average of 2.3 million metric tons (MT) per month from Indonesia to fuel the country’s coal-fired power plants.
Based on data from the DOE, as of end-2020, the Philippines imported a total of 29.52 million MT of coal. Of that, 28.6 million MT or 96.88 percent came from Indonesia followed by Australia at 538,212 MT equivalent to 1.82 percent with the remaining coming from South Africa, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam.
For the similar period, the country’s demand for coal fuel reached 32.85 million MT, 28.35 million MT of which came from importation with only the remaining 4.5 million MT from local sources.
As of end-2020, total installed generation from coal-fired power plants hit 10,944 megawatts equivalent to 58,176 gigawatt hours of power generation or 57 percent of the mix.
