The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the Department of Energy, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) authority to implement fixed tariff system for renewable energy under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

In a 118-page decision, the Court En Banc last August 2024 affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 6 and Section 7 of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

Section 6 establishes the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which the court said imposes a requirement to utilize renewable sources. It said that the NREB is tasked to determine the standard.

While, Section 7 establishes the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) System, which is meant to provide an incentive for electric power industry participants who produce electricity from renewable energy sources.

The high court said the various government agencies issued resolutions approving the tariff rates and issued the FIT Rules and FIT Guidelines.

This prompted petitions to question the legality of the issuances.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court found that the Renewable Energy Act is complete in its terms, making the delegation of legislative powers to the agencies valid.

The court said that legislative power is delegated to specialized agencies to address growing varieties, complexities, and volume of modern-day matters.

“Thus, this Court upholds the validity of the delegated powers to the ERC and the NREB to implement the provisions on the FIT System and the Renewable Portfolio Standard,” it said.

Meanwhile, the SC also upheld the advanced collection of the FIT allowance.

It said that while electricity from renewable sources must be produced before receiving FIT benefits, the law does not prohibit collecting funds in advance to support the system.