THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is seeking public comments on its pro-posed reserve prices for the fourth round of Green Energy Auction (GEA-4) in the country.
In a notice posted on its website on Monday night, the regulatory body said the re-serve prices are at P4.7679 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for rooftop solar, P4.1480 per kWh for ground-mounted solar, P5.9515 per kWh for floating solar, P6.5134 for on-shore wind, and P5.2835 per kWh for solar projects paired with battery energy stor-age system (BESS).
Under the current setup of GEA, interested renewable energy (RE) producers will compete for incentivized fixed power rates by offering prices lower than or equal to reserve prices set by the ERC.
The regulatory body said in the notice that all interested parties may submit their comments on the proposed reserve prices until 5 p.m. of April 21, 2025.
Public consultations
ERC added that public consultations will also be held on April 24, 2025 for Luzon stake-holders in its headquarters in Pasig city while Visayas and Mindanao stakehold-ers will have their virtual public consultation on April 25, 2025.
“All comments received by the commission within the prescribed period shall form part of the records of this rule-making proceedings and shall be considered in the fi-nalization of the draft Green Energy Auction Reserves for Round 4 of the Green Ener-gy Auction Program,” the notice further said.
In a separate message, Theresa Cruz-Capellan, Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alli-ance chair, said the prompt issuance of GEA prices is a “clear signal” of the gov-ernment’s commitment to accelerate the deployment of RE capacities.
Deviation in methodology
Capellan said their technical working groups are still studying the proposed prices but not-ed that there are “significant deviations in the methodology adopted by the com-mission” compared to the previous rounds of GEA.
“The private sector simply seeks consistency in the application of rules. Meaning, the methodology used in GEA-1 and GEA-2 should remain, unless collectively agreed up-on by parties. This will avoid confusion,” she explained.
Last month, the Department of Energy (DOE) said up to 10,478 megawatts (MW) worth of renewable energy capacity is expected from GEA-4. This includes 9,378 MW from ground-mounted solar, roof-mounted solar, floating solar and onshore wind projects that should be operationalized from 2026 to 2029 and another 1,100 MW of solar capacity equipped with battery storage.
Battery energy storage system
The agency said then this is the first GEA round to involve RE technologies paired with BESS.
DOE also earlier said that for GEA-4, qualified suppliers must either hold RE service con-tracts or a certificate of authority.
Supply contracts for winning RE projects will also be for 20 years, starting from the com-mercial operation date of the plant.
The Philippine government aims to increase RE’s share in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 and raise it further to 50 percent by 2050.
Based on latest data from the DOE, as of end-2024, total share of RE for installed on-grid and off-grid capacity (comprised of hydro, geothermal, wind, biomass and solar technolo-gies) in the country was at 9,581 MW, equivalent to 31.4 percent of the country’s power supply mix.
