Meralco seeks bids for 1,030-MW supply
By Danessa Rivera – April 18, 2022 | 12:00am
from The Philippine Star
Meralco, through its Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TBPAC), issued separate invitation to bid for the 180-MW baseload requirement for the interim and for the 850-MW renewable energy (RE) mid-merit capacity for 20 years.
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is seeking bidders for 1,030-megawatt (MW) supply for its franchise area.
Meralco, through its Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TBPAC), issued separate invitation to bid for the 180-MW baseload requirement for the interim and for the 850-MW renewable energy (RE) mid-merit capacity for 20 years.
In the second round of bidding for the 850-MW supply, the TPBAC has set the deadline for the expressions of interest (EOI) on May 18 and for the bids on May 25.
For the 180-MW baseload requirement, the TPBAC said interested parties have until May 16 to submit their EOIs and their bids on May 23.
Meralco launched the CSP for the 850-MW RE requirement, with the go-ahead of the Department of Energy (DOE), after Terra Solar, a joint venture between Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. of port magnate Enrique Razon and Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. founded by Leandro Leviste — proposed to supply Meralco with 850-MW mid merit capacity from 2,500-MW solar and 4,000-MWh battery storage.
Terra Solar offered a P6.08 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) headline rate and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the said capacity.
The original proponent — a joint venture of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc.—has proposed solar power plants with an energy storage system (ESS) in Batangas-Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales.
However, the TPBAC declared a failure of bidding for the 850-MW RE mid-merit requirement because it did not receive comparative bids to challenge the unsolicited proposal of Terra Solar Philippines Inc. during the April 5 deadline.
Pursuant to Section 9 of the Revised CSP Rules, a “comparative bidding is considered failed when, during its conduct, no comparative bid was received by the TPBAC.”
Therefore, the TPBAC determined that there was a failure of bidding for this CSP.
Meanwhile, the TPBAC did not receive any EOIs or the power supply contract for the 180-MW baseload requirement, which will be effective upon the issuance of notice of award and approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) until July 25, 2022, extendable to another five months.
This contract is meant to cover for the output of plants that are affected by Malampaya facility’s continued inability to supply adequate natural gas fuel.
The power distributor expects higher price of fuel of First Gas plants arising from the Malampaya gas supply restriction.
