Consumers will see higher electricity costs next month as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved an increase in the feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All). The adjustment comes after the FIT-All Fund was depleted due to the sustained low prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
In a statement, the ERC announced that it has granted approval to the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) to raise the FIT-All rate from P0.0838 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P0.1189 per kWh during its regular commission meeting on February 19.
The FIT-All is a uniform charge included in the monthly bills of all on-grid electricity consumers and is used to support the renewable energy (RE) sector.
“In approving the increase, the ERC noted the depletion of the FIT-ALL Fund due to sustained low prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” the statement read.
“The lower-than-expected WESM prices adversely affected the fund’s capacity to cover the FIT payments, necessitating adjustments in the FIT-ALL computation to ensure the payments for the supply to consumers coming from renewable energy (RE) FIT-eligible power plants,” it added.
The ERC further explained that the FIT Differential, which covers the gap between the FIT rates paid to renewable energy providers and prevailing WESM prices, has been adjusted to P10,125,029,884 from TransCo’s initial projection of P13,541,077,775, based on actual generation data from January to December 2024.
“The ERC is committed to ensuring that FIT payments are sustained to support the continued development of renewable energy projects while balancing the impact on consumers,” the statement concluded.
