The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a draft circular aimed at supplementing the development of pump-storage hydro power plant and other similar energy storage systems (ESS) in the country.
The draft circular said the DOE shall consolidate and consider the ESS needs of distribution utilities, as indicated in their respective distribution development plans. A roadmap will then be integrated in the agency’s various related plans and programs.
After the issuance and integration of the ESS roadmap, capacities from pump storage hydro facilities and renewable energy facilities paired with ESS will be auctioned off through Green Energy Auction.
The draft circular also extends to all pump storage hydro and RE-ESS systems a priority dispatch status in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
Pump storage hydro projects operate when water is pumped from a lower reservoir to the upper reservoir during off-peak hours to store underutilized energy which will then be released from the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir to generate electricity in times of high demand.
ESS facilities are not directly counted as additional capacity as technology stores power and does not generate new supply.
