The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has secured the best bids for 1,800 megawatts (MW) worth of supply from three generation companies after the completion of a competitive selection process (CSP) last week.
The distribution utility said four of the six bidders that expressed interest to participate in the CSP submitted their qualification documents, technical proposal and bid price.
Meralco said Aboitiz Power Corp.’s GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) as well as San Miguel Corp.’s Mariveles Power Generation Corp. (MPGC) and Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI) submitted the lowest price offers for the distribution utility’s future baseload requirement.
GNPD offered a total levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) rate of P6.8580 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 300 MW of the total requirement while MPGC offered P6.9971 per kWh LCOE for another 300 MW of supply.
EERI put in a bid with the largest capacity of 1,200 MW for P7.1094 per kWh LCOE.
Meralco said the Masinloc Power Co. Ltd. (MPCL), the other generation company that participated in the bidding, offered 300 MW at a rate of P7.1417 per kWh.
With EERI’s bid completing the required 1,800 MW supply requirement, MPCL’s bid was designated as the next best bid.
Meralco said all offers were below the reserve price set for this CSP and underwent a very stringent pass/fail completeness assessment and pre-qualification evaluation.
Meralco also said a post-qualification evaluation, submission of recommendation and report to Meralco’s board for approval of the winning power suppliers are still needed prior to the issuance of the notice of award.
The power supply agreements from this CSP cover Meralco’s future baseload requirement for 15 years beginning December 2024.
Lawrence Fernandez, Meralco bid committee chairman for power supply agreements, said that as a regulated entity, the company conducted its business in full compliance with rules and regulations issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Department of Energy (DOE).
Fernandez said the terms of reference’s conformity to Meralco’s power supply procurement plan was likewise reviewed and approved by the DOE and updated to consider the recommendations of ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta.
“To further ensure transparency, proceedings were streamed live and all contracts resulting from this bidding process shall be subjected to regulatory proceedings and evaluation by the ERC,” Fernandez said.
But even with the completion of the 1,800 MW CSP, Meralco is also seeking suppliers for a separate 660-MW and 1,200-MW worth of new CSPs.
