DOE defers 3rd green energy auction

The Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing back the third green energy auction (GEA-3) round to 2025, failing to deliver its commitment to complete the bidding process this year.

- - Brix Lelis

Speaking at the Energy Investment Forum 2024 on Thursday, DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said the auction round is postponed to January next year.

For GEA-3, the government plans to offer impounding hydro, pumped-storage hydro, run-of-river hydro and geothermal contracts with a combined capacity of 4,475 megawatts (MW).

The DOE earlier assured lawmakers that GEA-3 would be completed before the end of the year.

However, for the bidding round to proceed, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) should set first the final pricing guidelines, or the parameters that will determine the "reasonableness and prudency of the price offer."