Only one company has expressed interest to provide the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) with the 260 megawatts of power it needs for its franchise area in the hot months ahead.
Meralco did not identify the sole supplier that expressed interest to provide it with the energy it needs when power demand is at its peak.
“At the moment, only one has expressed interest,” Jose Ronald Valles, Meralco first vice president and regulatory management head, told reporters in a text message.
The lack of competitors at the recently concluded competitive selection process or CSP may result in a failure of the bidding process that will eventually allow Meralco to acquire what it needs via direct negotiations.
Meralco earlier bared readiness to meet heightened electricity demand following the official declaration of the dry months ahead when the temperature climbs.
Meralco consequently called for greater participation in the interruptible load program (ILP) where consumers with large electricity consumption are encouraged to run their own generators whenever electricity supply is in short supply in exchange for monetary incentives. The fuel industrial consumers use in generating their own power are then paid by household and business consumers.
ILP enrollees total 105 companies within the Meralco franchise equivalent to 530 MW of total de-loading capacity.
“We are in constant coordination with the Department of Energy in working to ensure the delivery of stable, reliable and continuous electricity service to customers during the summer months,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, said.
The power distributor recently secured additional power supply through a series of CSPs, the last one involving an additional 400 MW but subject to the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Limay Power Inc. submitted the lowest offer of only P6.2708 per kilowatt-hour for 400 MW of baseload power until February 2025.
Meralco said the interim supply assures the least cost to customers once approved by the ERC and will reduce its exposure to the wholesale electricity spot market when prices are highly volatile due to high demand and thin supply.
