Meralco seeks ERC approval for 1,800 MW of supply with lower rates for consumers
By Alena Mae S. Flores – March 5, 2024, 8:45 pm
from manilastandard.net
Power retailer Manila Electric Co. said Tuesday it filed for approval with the Energy Regulatory Commission three separate power supply agreements (PSA) covering 1,800-megawatt baseload requirement that would save consumers about P11 billion.
Meralco and Excellent Energy Resources Inc. filed a joint application with the ERC for approval of their PSA that is seen to save consumers nearly P7 billion.
EERI won the bid to supply 1,200 MW to Meralco out of its 1,800 -MW requirement following a competitive selection process or bidding held last year.
EERI was awarded the PSA for its offer of P7.1094 per kWh (total delivered levelized cost of electricity, VAT inclusive). EERI will supply Meralco from its 1,275-MW combined cycle power plant in Ilijan, Batangas City.
Meralco and EERI submitted the PSA for approval to the ERC after executing it on Feb. 5, 2024.
The parties said that given a certain set of assumptions, the annual effective rate under the Meralco-EERI PSA is P6.0417 per kWh (at plant gate, VAT exclusive).
The petitioners said the annual delivered rate of P6.1917 per kWh is lower by about P0.6953 per kWh than the computed P6.8870 per kWh if the equivalent capacity under the Meralco-EERI PSA is to be sourced from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
“In fact, by sourcing the capacity through the Meralco-EERI PSA, Meralco’s average blended generation rate will be reduced by about P0.1788 per kWh, resulting in savings to consumers of about P6.908 billion,” the parties said.
Meralco also filed another joint application with the Mariveles Power Generation Corp. for the supply of 300 MW out of its 1,800-MW requirement.
MPGC won the bid to supply 300 MW to Meralco with its offer of P6.9971 per kWh. MPGC owns and will operate and maintain the 600-MW Mariveles coal plant in Bataan Freeport Zone, Mariveles, Bataan.
The parties said MPGC’s annual delivered rate of P6.0843 per kWh is lower by about P0.8027 per kWh than the effective cost of P6.8870 per kWh, if Meralco would source from the WESM.
They said that by sourcing the capacity through the PSA, Meralco’s average blended generation rate would be reduced by about P0.0546 per kWh, resulting in savings to consumers of about P2.1 billion.
Meralco also filed another PSA with GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co., which owns a 1,366-MW coal-fired power plant in Mariveles. GNPD won the bid to supply 300 MW with its offer of P6.8580 per kWh.
The parties said Meralco consumers would save about P1.9 billion if the capacity would be sourced from the PSA instead of the WESM.
