NATIONAL GRID Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has obtained provisional authority from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to implement two ancillary service procurement agreements (ASPAs).
In separate filings, the grid operator said the ERC approved ASPAs for two battery energy storage systems (BESS) that it forged with Universal Power Solutions, Inc. (UPSI).
In notices of resolution both dated Aug. 15, ASPAs covered each of UPSI’s 20 megawatt-rated capacity BESS located in Maco, Davao de Oro and in Malita, Davao Occidental.
According to Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, ancillary services are “necessary to support the transmission of capacity and energy from resources to loads while maintaining reliable operation of the transmission system in accordance with good utility practice and the Grid Code.”
According to NGCP’s two filings, the rate to be paid by the company as ancillary service (AS) cost should be passed on to its customers in accordance with the approved ancillary services-cost recovery mechanism.
The ERC directed NGCP to optimize the economic and technical dispatch of the available ancillary capacity, wherein it should schedule a mix of hourly AS capacity, “at the least cost,” for a reserve needed to maintain the power quality of the grid. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera