Philippine Distribution Code 2017 Edition

1 Philippine Distribution code 2014 Edition December 2017 Philippine Distribution code 2017 Edition Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City RESOLUTION NO. _____, Series of 2017 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE Philippine Distribution code (PDC) 2017 Edition WHEREAS, Section 2(b) of the Republic Act No. 9136, also known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, provides the policy objective of the government to ensure the quality, reliability, security and affordability of electric power supply; WHEREAS, the provision of Section (f) of the Philippine Distribution code (PDC), the Distribution Management Committee (DMC) is mandated to initiate and coordinate revisions of the PDC and recommend them to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC); WHEREAS, on 27 August 2010, the DMC posted at the ERC website an invitation for interested parties to submit their proposals to amend any provision of the PDC.

2 WHEREAS, upon gathering proposals to amend the PDC, the DMC evaluated and resolved on 17 May 2011 to submit the initial proposals to the ERC. Another set of proposals were endorsed to the ERC on 20 September 2011; WHEREAS, the DMC, during its 1st Regular Meeting for 2012, decided to request the ERC the conduct of expository hearings and public consultations on the proposed amendments to the PDC, and the posting of the said proposals at the ERC website; FOREWORD Philippine Distribution code 2017 Edition ii December 2017 WHEREAS, upon gathering input from the Distribution Utilities and other entities, through expository hearings and public consultation held on 18 and 24 April 2012 and 29 May 2012, and upon incorporating such input in the proposed amendments, the DMC resolved to endorse to the ERC the proposed amendments on 26 July 2012.

3 WHEREAS, as instructed by the ERC, the DMC convened meetings with the Grid Management Committee (GMC) to harmonize proposed amendments to the PDC which affect the definitions, operations, requirements and standards provided by the Philippine Grid code (PGC), then came up with the provisions commonly agreed by both; WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 9513, otherwise known as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, aims to promote the development, utilization and commercialization of renewable energy resources. It particularly provides for the establishment of the framework for the development and advancement of renewable energy resources and the development of a strategic program to increase utilization of said resources; WHEREAS, the DMC deemed appropriate to propose and incorporate in the PDC new standards, policies, requirements and rules issued by the ERC, Department of Energy (DOE), and other authorities to address issues on the developments brought about by the promotion of renewable energy, and open access and retail competition.

4 WHEREAS, the existing PDC provides for the standards and policies on the conventional embedded generators but does not provide for the technical requirements for the connections and operations of the embedded renewable energy generations. The DMC decided to study on the subject matter and incorporate the outcome in the PDC; WHEREAS, the complexities of the operations of embedded renewable energy generations required the DMC to request World Bank, through its technical consultant, to provide advice and support in developing the technical standards for the connection requirements, performance, operations and planning for embedded renewable energy generations; WHEREAS, 0n 24 February 2015, World Bank granted the DMC s request and selected Mr.

5 Jorge Bircher. It is worthy to note that Mr. Bircher was also engaged by the GMC, as consultant provided by the World Bank, for the study of VRE Generation in the Philippines; iii December 2017 Philippine Distribution code 2017 Edition FOREWORD WHEREAS, the Rules Review Subcommittee (RRSC) convened on various dates with Mr. Bircher and other concerned parties in the electric power industry to get input on their knowledge and experience in the operations of conventional embedded generations, including the renewable energy generations, and how they affect the Distribution , transmission, generation and market operations; WHEREAS, the connection and operational requirements for Embedded Generators provide all necessary procedure and standards for utilizing conventional and renewable resources.

6 WHEREAS, the DMC, during its special meeting held on 12 November 2015, resolved to approve the first draft of the proposed requirements and to request the ERC the conduct of expository hearing and public consultation; WHEREAS, on 18 December 2015, the ERC approved the posting of the first draft of the proposed connection and operational requirements for Embedded Generators for the stakeholders comments; WHEREAS, upon gathering inputs from the Distribution Utilities and other entities, through expository hearings and public consultation held on 02 and 04 February 2016, and upon incorporating such input in the proposed amendments, the DMC resolved to incorporate the draft requirements for Embedded Generators into the PDC 2016 Edition ; WHEREAS, a series of meetings followed to discuss results of each chapter of the PDC 2016 Edition .

7 On 05 October 2016, the RRSC endorsed the final draft of the PDC 2016 Edition to the DMC plenary; WHEREAS, the DMC during its Regular Meeting last 13 October 2016 resolved to endorse the PDC 2016 Edition to the ERC for its approval; WHEREAS, after endorsement of the PDC 2016 Edition to the ERC, the DMC received comments from the ERC-ROS and ERC-CAS last 17 January 2017 and 24 January 2017 , respectively; WHEREAS, the DMC, during its various meetings on 19 January and 03 February 2017 , discussed and acted upon on the comments received. FOREWORD Philippine Distribution code 2017 Edition iv December 2017 Adopted comments and recommendations were incorporated in the final draft of PDC 2016 Edition ; WHEREAS, the draft PDC 2016 Edition was posted at the ERC website on 28 March 2017 for final comment by the stakeholders; WHEREAS, after receiving comments on 21 April 2017 , the RRSC convened to discuss the comments from May to July 2017 ; WHEREAS, on 25 July 2017 , the RRSC endorsed the final draft of the PDC 2016 Edition for approval of the DMC plenary; WHEREAS, the DMC, during its Regular Meeting last August 2017 , approved and resolved to endorse the PDC 2016 Edition for approval of the ERC.

8 And WHEREAS, on 25 August 2017 , the DMC submitted the final draft of the proposed Philippine Distribution code 2017 Edition to the ERC for its approval; NOW, THEREFORE, the ERC hereby RESOLVES to APPROVE and ADOPT, without prejudice to any issuances by the Department of Energy (DOE) on policy regarding Embedded Generators, the Philippine Distribution code 2017 Edition ; attached hereto and made integral part hereof as Annex A . RESOLVED FURTHER, that the PDC 2017 Edition shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette. Let copies of this Resolution be furnished the University of the Philippines Law Center-Office of the National Administrative Register (UPLC-ONAR) and all Distribution Utilities (DUs).

9 V December 2017 Philippine Distribution code 2017 Edition FOREWORD SO ORDERED. Pasig City, December 19, 2017 . AGNES VST DEVANADERA Chairperson and CEO ALFREDO J. NON GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC Commissioner Commissioner JOSEFINA PATRICIA M. ASIRIT GERONIMO D. STA. ANA Commissioner Commissioner ROS-SCMD/REM/LLG/FBD FOREWORD As the Philippine economy continues to grow, the demand for sufficient, stable, safe and reliable supply of electricity by business industries and households steadily increases. It is imperative that as the country expands its power generation capacity both in terms of renewable and non-renewable energy sources, the development, operation and maintenance of electric power Distribution facilities meet the technical standards, rules and regulations to ensure a safe, reliable and efficient Distribution System in the country.

10 The Philippine Distribution code (PDC) 2017 Edition is the result of several years of technical review, analysis, and coordination work among the members and technical staff of the Distribution Management Committee, Inc. (DMC), in close collaboration with the stakeholders of the power Distribution sector and guidance of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). In the exercise of its mandate to initiate and coordinate revisions of the Philippine Distribution code and make recommendations to the Energy Regulatory Commission (Section (e), PDC 2001), the Distribution Management Committee, Inc. (DMC) initiated the review of the PDC in 2010 and invited Users of the Distribution System to propose amendments to the PDC.