Philippine Energy Policy Wiki

DC2021-11-0036 — Revised GEAP Guidelines

Status
operative
Confidence
high
Effective date
2021-11-03
Parent law
ra-9513

Full title: Providing the Revised Guidelines for the Green Energy Auction Program in the Philippines Issued: 3 November 2021 | Pages: 15 Issuing authority: DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi Repeals: DC2020-07-0017 (prior GEAP guidelines) Amended by: DC2023-09-0027 (September 2023), DC2025-03-0004 (March 2025), DC2025-06-0009 (June 2025)

This circular is the foundational legal instrument for the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) . It establishes the framework for competitive electronic auctions to procure RE capacity, replacing the administrative price-setting of the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) system for most RE technologies. It supersedes an earlier version, DC2020-07-0017, and governs GEA-1 (June 2022) and GEA-2 (July 2023); non-FIT-eligible technologies (geothermal, impounding hydro) were governed by a separate later circular, DC2023-10-0029.

  • RA 7638 §5(b)(c)(h) — DOE mandate to develop energy programs with preference for indigenous/RE sources [DC2021-11-0036, §Whereas, 2021-11-03]
  • RA 9136/EPIRA §37(e)(i)(j)(p) — DOE authority to promote RE investment and formulate implementing rules [DC2021-11-0036, §Whereas, 2021-11-03]
  • RA 9513/RE Act §2, §5 — DOE as lead RE agency; mandate to increase RE utilization [DC2021-11-0036, §Whereas, 2021-11-03]
  • DC2015-07-0014 §4 — prior DOE circular that first mandated an auction system for post-FiT RE installations [DC2021-11-0036, §Whereas, 2021-11-03]

Key Rules

Rule 1: General Provisions (§1–4)

Scope covers RE Developers/Generators, RPS Mandated Participants, TransCo, NGCP, System Operator (IEMOP), Market Operator, RE Registrar, Distribution Utilities, and electricity end-users [DC2021-11-0036, §3.1, 2021-11-03].

Rule 2: Green Energy Tariff (§5)

The Green Energy Tariff (GET) is the price, in PhP/kWh, awarded to each winning bidder on a pay-as-bid basis — each winner receives their own offered price, with no uniform clearing price [DC2021-11-0036, §5.3, 2021-11-03]. The ERC sets the Green Energy Auction Reserve (GEAR) Price as a per-technology ceiling before each round. The GET is included by the ERC in the FIT-All computation [DC2021-11-0036, §5, 2021-11-03].

Rule 3: Green Energy Auction Process (§6–9)

Eligible capacity:

  • New or existing post-RE Act RE facilities with no existing PSA/PPA with a DU at delivery date [DC2021-11-0036, §6.1.1, 2021-11-03]
  • Pre-RE Act plants that expanded — incremental capacity only [DC2021-11-0036, §6.1.2, 2021-11-03]
  • Geothermal and impounding hydro: separate auction policy required, addressed later by DC2023-10-0029 [DC2021-11-0036, §6.1.3, 2021-11-03]
  • Other emerging RE technologies may be included as determined by DOE [DC2021-11-0036, §6.1.4, 2021-11-03]

The GEAC determines auction capacity based on: grid capacity need + RE mix target + REC volume for RPS compliance [DC2021-11-0036, §6.2, 2021-11-03].

GEAR Price timing: ERC issues the ceiling within 60 days of the Notice of Auction for the first round, and within 30 days for subsequent rounds [DC2021-11-0036, §8, 2021-11-03].

Auction sequence: Notice of Auction → GEAR Price (ERC) → TOR/ARP (issued ≥15 days before Registration) → Registration (letter of intent, work program, registration fee) → Qualified Bidder evaluation → Pre-Bid Conference → Bid Bond + Affidavit of Undertaking → Electronic Auction Proper (MW + PhP/kWh bids, ranked lowest-to-highest, pay-as-bid) → Certificate of Award → COE-GET → ERC COC-FIT [DC2021-11-0036, §9, 2021-11-03].

Rule 4: Opt-In Mechanism (§10)

DUs may opt to procure directly from GEA winning bidders; the opt-in volume is carved out of the FIT-All pool and charged instead to the DU’s captive customers at the GET, with corresponding RECs accruing to the opting-in DU [DC2021-11-0036, §10.1, 2021-11-03]. See Opt-In Mechanism (GEAP) .

Rule 5: GEAC (§11)

The Green Energy Auction Committee (GEAC) is headed by the DOE Assistant Secretary leading the RPS Composite Team. Membership includes the full RPS Composite Team plus IEMOP and TransCo representatives, assisted by a TWG from EPIMB, REMB, Legal, and Financial Services [DC2021-11-0036, §11, 2021-11-03].

Rule 6: Other Provisions (§12–17)

  • GEA conducted annually or as necessary [DC2021-11-0036, §12, 2021-11-03]
  • GEAP (including Opt-In) = CSP compliance for DUs [DC2021-11-0036, §13, 2021-11-03]
  • Marginal GET (of the marginal plant per technology) = price ceiling for DU-initiated CSP [DC2021-11-0036, §14, 2021-11-03]
  • GEAP RECs distributed pro rata among RPS Mandated Participants based on FIT-All payments [DC2021-11-0036, §15, 2021-11-03]
  • FIT regulatory framework (ERC Res. 16 s.2010) adopted for GEA administration [DC2021-11-0036, §16, 2021-11-03]
  • TransCo enters REPAs with each Winning Bidder and includes the GET in its FIT-All petition [DC2021-11-0036, §17.3, 2021-11-03]; ERC issues the FIT-COC within 60 days of complete filing [DC2021-11-0036, §17.2, 2021-11-03]
  • NGCP must submit its System Impact Study (SIS) timeline within 30 days [DC2021-11-0036, §17.4.1, 2021-11-03]

Rule 7: Penalties (§19–20)

Prohibited: failure to deliver committed capacity; bid suppression; bid rotation; market allocation; other anti-competitive conduct. Penalty: EPIRA §46 sanctions + permanent GEA/CSP disqualification [DC2021-11-0036, §19–20, 2021-11-03].

Auction Rounds Governed

RoundDateResult
GEA-117 June 20221,866 MW awarded (18 certificates)
GEA-23 July 20233,441 MW awarded (105 winners)

GEA-3 onward (non-FIT technologies) governed by DC2023-10-0029.

Amendment by DC2023-09-0027

DC2023-09-0027 (26 September 2023) amended §9.13 of this circular to clarify the regulatory equivalence between GEAP instruments and FIT instruments:

COE-GET = Certificate of Endorsement for FIT Eligibility — for purposes of the ERC’s Certificate of Compliance process, the Certificate of Endorsement for Green Energy Tariff (COE-GET) is treated as equivalent to the FiT Certificate of Endorsement issued by the DOE [DC2023-09-0027, §1, 2023-09-26].

GET = FIT for FIT-All Fund — In the availment of the FIT-All Fund, the GET of a Winning Bidder “shall be considered, interpreted, and accepted as the FIT” [DC2023-09-0027, §1, 2023-09-26].

This clarification closed a regulatory gap: DC2021-11-0036 described the post-auction process without explicitly equating the GET with the FIT for payment purposes. With DC2023-09-0027, GEAP winners are fully integrated into the existing FIT-All payment infrastructure.

Amendment by DC2025-03-0004

DC2025-03-0004 (9 March 2025) made three amendments to this circular:

1. GET Indexation — Now Explicit (§16 amended)

Section 16 previously adopted the FIT regulatory framework but left ambiguous whether ERC’s annual FIT rate indexation (inflation + FOREX pass-through per ERC Res. No. 16 §2.10) applied to the GET. DC2025-03-0004 resolved this:

“The GET resulting from Green Energy Auctions conducted after the effectivity of this Circular shall be subject to indexation as may be determined by the ERC in accordance with the FIT Rules.”

This means the GET for GEA-4 and later auctions is not purely fixed at the bid price — it will be adjusted annually by the ERC using the same benchmarking indexation formula applied to FiT rates [DC2025-03-0004, §3, 2025-03-09]. GEA-1 and GEA-2 GETs are unaffected (grandfathered).

2. COA-Holders Now Eligible as Qualified Suppliers (§4.12 amended)

The definition of “Qualified Suppliers” expanded to include RE Developers/Generators issued with a Certificate of Authority (COA) under DC2024-06-0018 (Revised Omnibus RE Guidelines) — not only those holding a full RE Contract. COA-holders have an approved RE Application and DOE authorization to procure permits and tenurial instruments, but have not yet executed a contract [DC2025-03-0004, §1, 2025-03-09].

3. Notice of Auction — Website Only (§9.1 amended)

Newspaper publication requirement removed. DOE website posting is now sufficient notice to all GEAP stakeholders [DC2025-03-0004, §2, 2025-03-09].

See Digest: DC2025-03-0004: GET Indexation, COA Eligibility, and NOA Amendment to DC2021-11-0036 for the full amendment text and context.

Amendment by DC2025-06-0009

DC2025-06-0009 (9 June 2025; effectivity ~8 July 2025) further amended §16 and inserted a new §17, resolving a key ambiguity left by DC2025-03-0004.

Revised §16 — Pricing and Indexation Governance Separated

Section 16 now reads:

“The GEA adopts the Regulatory Framework and Administration of FITs provided under Resolution No. 16, Series of 2010 (FIT Rules), issued by the ERC. However, the GEA pricing mechanism and indexation shall be governed by Sections 8 and 17, respectively, of this Circular.” [DC2025-06-0009, §1, 2025-06-09]

Indexation is no longer governed by the FIT Rules — it is carved into new §17.

New §17 — One-Time GET Adjustment

“The GET of a Winning Bidder resulting from an Auction Proper conducted after the effectivity of this amendment to the GEAP Guidelines shall include indexation… the GET of a Winning Bidder shall be adjusted for indexation only once, entitlement to which shall begin at any time between the issuance of the Certificate of Award and the commencement of commercial operations of the Winning Bidder’s RE Facility.” [DC2025-06-0009, §2, 2025-06-09]

Critical clarification: GET indexation is a single pre-COD adjustment, not the annual recurring adjustment that FiT rates receive under the FIT Rules. The “notwithstanding the FIT Rules” proviso in §17 explicitly overrides the FIT Rules’ annual mechanism. ERC develops the formula and streamlined procedure.

See Digest: DC2025-06-0009: One-Time GET Indexation Clarification (Amendment to DC2025-03-0004) for the full amendment text and policy implications.

Full text: Cleaned copy