Fit-Coc 2022

What is a FIT-COC?
One of vital permits for a Power Generation Company to operate a Power Plant in the
Philippines is a Certificate of Compliance (COC) issued by the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC), which is a license issued to a Power Plant that demonstrated
qualification and compliance with the standard and requirements of the Philippine
Distribution Code, Philippines Grid Code, and WESM Rules for the facilities to be used
in the generation of electricity prior commercial operation as mandated in the Section
6 of Republic Act No. 9136 (R.A 9136) or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of
2001 (EPIRA), and Section 1, Rule 5 of its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
Similarly, a FIT-eligible COC refers to the same issuance by the ERC to Renewable
Energy (RE) Plants that intends to operate under the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) System, an RE
policy that offers guaranteed payments on a fixed rate per kilowatt-hour for emerging
RE sources, and was established pursuant to Section 7 of the Republic Act No. 9513
(R.A 9513) or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, and Section 5 of its IRR or the
Department of Energy’s (DOE) Department Circular No. DC2009-05-008. Subscription
for FIT is subject to the availability of the rated capacities per RE Technology with a
‘first-come-first-serve’ basis until the installation target is attained.
Permitting process towards FIT-COC comprises numerous and series of permits and
clearances from various Government Agencies such as DOE, DENR, NWRB, ERC, NGCP,
etc. In view of the FIT-COC overall process, these permits are required at different
timing based on the milestones of the construction. Putting all these together into one
process flow, Figure 1 below illustrates the end-to-end steps and requirements
towards FIT-COC.
Figure 1. Process flow towards FIT-eligible COC

The first step in the permitting process for the development of an RE Project is the
acquisition of an RE Contract from DOE which will allow RE Developers to exclusively
explore, develop and utilize RE resources for operation of an RE Plant. It is a
registration as an RE Developer and will serve as a pre-qualification requirement when
applying for FIT eligibility and inclusion of project under the FIT System. An RE Contract
is initially valid for five (5) years under Pre-development Stage (not applicable for solar
and biomass) during which it allows RE Developer to carry related studies and
conclude the feasibility of an RE Project.
RE Projects that are found commercially feasible in consideration of the approved FIT
rate shall be declared to the DOE for conversion of Projects from Pre-Development
Stage to Development Stage. Issuance of Certificate of Confirmation of Commerciality
(COCOC) by DOE will serve as a notice to proceed to its development and construction
according to the approved 5-year Work Program. At this point, RE Developers may also
start acquiring permits and clearances for the System Impact Study and Connection
Agreement with the NGCP in parallel to the development and construction works.
The succeeding milestone that would require checking and validation by the DOE is
the attainment of Electromechanical completion (EMC) of an RE project which is
deemed attained when at least eighty percent (80%) of the construction is completed,
provided that the interconnection facility is fully in place, for which DOE would issue a
letter of EMC confirmation and separately, a letter of nomination to ERC for the
eligibility of the Project under FIT System. The nomination will not be construed as
giving right to the RE Developer to be included in the FIT eligible projects but for ERC
to accept the FIT-eligible COC application for initial review and evaluation.
With the EMC confirmation and FIT nomination letter, RE Developers may already file
for FIT-COC application for initial review and evaluation by the ERC. As for an RE Plant
that intends to develop, own, operate and maintain a Dedicated Point-to-Point
Connection Facilities, it is important to take note that at least a proof of filing of
application with ERC must be submitted. However, ERC will not take any action on the
COC application unless a written authorization for the point-to-point connection
facilities is obtained.
Once a Plant is set for Test and Commissioning, the Developer must inform ERC its
target date and submit a statement of readiness to connect and all requirements as
specified in Connection Agreement to Transmission Network Provider (TNC) for the
issuance of Provisional Certificate of Approval to Connect for the physical connection
and initial synchronization of the Plant and Transmission Facilities to the Grid. After
successful commissioning, TNP will then issue the Final Certificate of Approval to
Connect (FCATC) which shall then be submitted to ERC along with other requirements
being required before the joint Virtual/ Physical Technical Inspection with DOE as part
of the requirements for the issuance of FIT-COC.
DOE will validate the success of the commissioning and will issue the Certificate of
Endorsement for FIT eligibility (FIT-COE) which will indicate the installed capacity that
will be eligible for the FIT rate, and the date of Commercial Operation of the RE Plant.
It is the main requisite for the ERC to proceed to final review and evaluation, and final
action on the FIT-eligible COC applications.
Other requirements such as Water Permit from National Water Resource Board,
Environmental Compliance Certificate, Permit to Operate and Discharge Permit from
Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, and WESM Registration are also
major requirements for the FIT-eligible COC and shall be submitted prior to the ERC
Technical Inspection. ERC will commence final review and evaluation of the submitted
requirements and shall notify the RE Developer on its final action within sixty (60) days
from the date of conduct of the joint technical inspection.

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What is a FIT-COC?

Figure 1. Process flow towards FIT-eligible COC

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