DC2025-03-0004: GET Indexation, COA Eligibility, and NOA Amendment to DC2021-11-0036

Full title: Amendment to Department Circular No. DC2021-11-0036 Titled “Providing the Revised Guidelines for the Green Energy Auction Program in the Philippines” Issued: 9 March 2025 (effective 15 days after publication in two newspapers) | Pages: 3 (image-based PDF; OCR via tesseract 5.3.4) Issuing authority: DOE Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla Amends: DC2021-11-0036 (the foundational GEAP Guidelines) Public consultation: Online, 14 February 2025

This circular makes three targeted amendments to the GEAP Guidelines: it explicitly applies FIT-type annual indexation to the GET for all post-effectivity GEAs; it expands the definition of Qualified Suppliers to include COA-holders; and it removes the newspaper publication requirement for the Notice of Auction.

Amendment 1: GET Indexation Now Explicit (§16 of DC2021-11-0036)

The change: Section 16 of DC2021-11-0036 previously said the GEA adopts the FIT regulatory framework (ERC Resolution No. 16, Series of 2010) except that GEA pricing is governed by §8 (the GEAR mechanism). This created an ambiguity: does the ERC’s annual FIT rate indexation — a local inflation and FOREX pass-through formula under ERC Res. No. 16 §2.10 — apply to the GET?

DC2025-03-0004 resolves this:

“For the avoidance of doubt, 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. As such, other entities involved in the implementation of the FIT shall continue to discharge their responsibilities as set forth in the FIT Rules with respect to the results of each auction round.” [DC2025-03-0004, §3, 2025-03-09]

What this means: The GET is no longer a purely fixed pay-as-bid price. For GEA-4 and all subsequent auctions, the GET will be adjusted annually by the ERC using the same benchmarking indexation formula applied to FiT rates — accounting for local inflation and FOREX rate variations [DC2025-03-0004, §3, 2025-03-09].

The indexation does not retroactively apply to GEA-1 or GEA-2 GETs — only to “Green Energy Auctions conducted after the effectivity of this Circular.” GEA-3 occurred before this circular’s effectivity.

Enabling reference: ERC Resolution No. 16, Series of 2010 (FIT Rules) §2.10 mandates ERC to adjust FiTs annually. ERC Resolution No. 18, Series of 2014 (REPA/RESA Templates) recognizes “FIT rate” as adjustable per those rules [DC2025-03-0004, §Whereas, 2025-03-09].

Amendment 2: COA-Holders Now Qualify as Suppliers (§4.12 of DC2021-11-0036)

The change: Section 4.12 of DC2021-11-0036 previously defined “Qualified Suppliers” as RE Developers/Generators registered with the DOE under the Omnibus RE Guidelines — effectively requiring a full, executed RE Contract.

New §4.12:

“‘Qualified Suppliers’ refer to RE Developers/Generators: (a) awarded with a valid and subsisting RE Contract, or (b) issued with COA, and eligible to participate in the GEA as determined by the GEAC under Section 6.1 of this Circular.” [DC2025-03-0004, §1, 2025-03-09]

What a COA is: Under DC2024-06-0018 (Revised Omnibus RE Guidelines, effective 25 June 2024), a Certificate of Authority (COA) is a DOE-issued certificate authorizing an RE Developer to procure permits and tenurial instruments for exploration, development, construction, and commercial operation within a specified area — before executing a full RE Contract. It gives developers the privilege of procuring permits outside the contract term [DC2025-03-0004, §Whereas, 2025-03-09].

Effect: RE developers with approved RE Applications who have received a COA but have not yet signed an RE Contract can now participate in GEAP. This lowers the entry barrier for projects in earlier development stages and may increase auction participation.

Amendment 3: Notice of Auction — Website Only (§9.1 of DC2021-11-0036)

The change: Section 9.1 previously required the DOE to publish the Notice of Auction on its website and in at least one newspaper of general circulation.

New §9.1: “The DOE shall publish the Notice of Auction on its website.” The newspaper requirement is removed [DC2025-03-0004, §2, 2025-03-09].

Rationale: The whereas clause notes that “posting of the Notice of Auction for a Green Energy Auction shall serve as notice to all stakeholders of the GEAP, without the need of publication in a newspaper of general circulation” [DC2025-03-0004, §Whereas, 2025-03-09]. This reflects the shift toward digital-first government communications and reduces administrative burden for each auction round.

Effectivity

This circular takes effect 15 days following its publication in at least two newspapers of general circulation [DC2025-03-0004, §6, 2025-03-09]. The GET indexation provisions apply to GEAs conducted after this effectivity date — meaning GEA-4 onward.

Amendment by DC2025-06-0009

DC2025-06-0009 (9 June 2025; effectivity ~8 July 2025) amended this circular’s GET indexation provision to resolve a critical ambiguity: whether indexation was annual (like FiT rates under the FIT Rules) or a single pre-COD adjustment.

DC2025-06-0009 inserts a new §17 into DC2021-11-0036 that explicitly states: “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.” The “notwithstanding the FIT Rules” proviso overrides any implication that annual FIT-rate indexation applies to the GET [DC2025-06-0009, §2, 2025-06-09].

The practical effect: GEA-4+ developers receive a single pre-operations inflation/FOREX correction — not perpetual annual escalation of the GET after commercial operations begin.

Policy Significance

The GET indexation is the most consequential change of this circular. It re-aligns the GET with FiT rates — which do adjust annually for inflation and FOREX — closing a structural inconsistency in the GEAP framework and protecting RE developers from real-term erosion of their contracted prices. The trade-off is that consumers’ GEAP costs will also float rather than being locked at the bid price (subsequently narrowed to a one-time adjustment by DC2025-06-0009 — see above).

Full text: Cleaned copy