Meralco to pursue CSP for baseload supply

BY LENIE LECTURA – SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
from Business Mirror

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will pursue the competitive auction for 780megawatts (MW) of baseload supply that it needs starting February 2023.

On Tuesday afternoon, Meralco presented to the House Committee on Energy its 2022 Power Supply Procurement Plan (PSPP) that was approved by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Meralco may publish this year the bid invite for the CSP (Competitive Selection Process) for 180MW baseload and 600MW baseload needed from February 26, 2023 to February 25, 2024 and from February 26, 2026 to February 25, 2048, respectively.

Meralco utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez said the proposed terms of reference have yet to be submitted to the DOE. However, the procurement plan for the said baseload supply was already approved by the agency.

“It’s in the approved list but it has not commenced yet,” he said when sought for more details.

The approved list also includes 1,600MW of baseload supply needed from December 26, 2029 to December 25, 2049 and the  300MW mid-merit supply from February 26, 2028 to February 25, 2048.  The approved PSPP also included 4 renewable energy (RE)-specific CSPs with a total capacity of 1,650MW that are intended for RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standards) compliance. These are the 100MW and 200MW baseload supply, 850MW and 500MW mid-merit supply.  RPS requires power generators, distribution utilities, and suppliers to partly source their electricity from eligible RE sources.

Last month, Meralco started the CSP for the supply of 200MW baseload RE supply starting 2024. It has sought bid offers to challenge Solar Philippines Batangas Baseload Corp. (SPBBC). SPBBC offered a P4.65 per kilowatt-hour headline rate at a 100 percent plant capacity factor and a similar rate for a levelized cost of electricity for 20 years. The company proposed to source the supply and guaranteed output from its 1,800-MW solar project and 1,800 MW-hour battery storage currently under development.

The deadline for bid submission is on October 5.