Meralco sets bid opening for 1,800-MW baseload power supply on Jan. 5
By Alena Mae S. Flores – December 26, 2023, 8:00 pm
from manilastandard.net
Power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will proceed with the bidding for its 1,800-megawatt (MW) baseload supply requirement Wednesday, but set the bid opening on Jan. 5, 2024.
Among the interested bidders are First Gen Corp.’s subsidiary First NatGas Power Corp. (FNPC), Aboitiz Power Corp.’s GNPower Dinginin, SP New Energy and three companies owned by San Miguel Corp. including Mariveles Power Generation Corp., Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI) and Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. (MPPCL).
Energy Regulatory Commission chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said the bid submission and bid opening schedule for the competitive selection process (CSP) is the responsibility of Meralco.
“Meralco sets the timeline and is responsible for the conduct of their CSPs. We provided them with our observations and concerns and will evaluate compliance of the awarded power supply agreements once submitted to the ERC for approval,” Dimalanta said.
The move followed the issuance of a bid bulletin by Meralco setting the minimum offered contract capacity per bidder at 150 megawatts and the maximum offered contract capacity per bidder at 1,200 MW.
This addressed the concerns raised by ERC to allow more companies to participate in the CSP, thus encouraging competition and the chances of least-cost supply to consumers.
The bid bulletin also stated that the parties should exert their best efforts to agree on ways to mitigate the impact of any sudden significant increase in the monthly fuel cost payment, which results in a significant increase in the rates of consumers.
“Under the TOR, any bidder can offer a maximum of 1,800 MW so she recommended to cap it to a certain level. We recommended 1,200 MW which I think was acceptable to her,” Meralco senior assistant vice president and regulatory affairs head Jose Ronald Valles said.
Valles earlier said technologies offered for the baseload CSP capacity are natural gas, coal and solar.
Meralco will award a 15-year contract for 1,800-MW baseload supply starting December 2024.
