Meralco to cap offered capacity on baseload supply

By Alena Mae S. Flores – December 20, 2023, 7:25 pm
from manilastandard.net

Power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will issue a bid bulletin revising the maximum offered capacity for its 1,800-megawatt (MW) baseload supply requirement.

Meralco senior assistant vice president and regulatory affairs head Jose Ronald Valles said the bid bulletin for the 1,800-MW competitive selection process would incorporate the recommendations of Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta.

Valles said the recommendations were incorporated in the CSP terms of reference, and one major change “was the capping of the maximum offered capacity.”

“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,” he said.

He said the amendment in the TOR could be done through the issuance of a new bid bulletin, which is allowed under the rules.

Valles said six groups expressed interest in the 1,800-MW baseload supply.

“We have written the ERC chair, that because there are recommendations and that we have already incorporated to the TOR, we’re seeking guidance if we can proceed with the bid opening on Dec. 27,” he said.

“Unless the chair tells us otherwise, then we will likely proceed because there’s not enough time for us to complete the bidding,” Valles said.

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).

Valles earlier said the 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.