MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) has sought competitive offers for the supply of 200 megawatts (MW) of baseload supply starting in 2024.
In a press release on Wednesday, Meralco said it has started the competitive selection process (CSP) to challenge Solar Philippines Batangas Baseload Corp. (SPBBC).
SPBBC offered a P4.65 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) headline rate at a 100% 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 (MWh) battery storage currently under development.
SPBBC assures 24/7 availability of supply through its backup power from other plants in its renewable energy (RE) portfolio.
Meralco’s third-party bids and awards committee said that interested bidders have until Aug. 31 to submit their expression of interest. The pre-bid conference is set for Sept. 1, while the deadline for bid submission is on Oct. 5.
It said late submissions and requests for additional time will not be allowed in all stages of the bidding process.
Based on the CSP’s approved terms of reference, the supply may be sourced from a single or portfolio of power plants provided that commercial operations are not earlier than February 2019 but not later than March 2024.
The CSP further provided that the power supply will cover full contract capacity. Meralco said that if an RE portfolio is not available, the power supplier may supply from any source other than the wholesale electricity spot market.
Last month, Meralco also sought bidders to challenge Ahunan Power, Inc.’s proposal to supply 500-MW of Meralco’s mid-merit requirements from RE starting in 2026.
According to Meralco, the CSP round is in compliance with the Department of Energy’s Renewable Portfolio Standards or RPS policy and part is part of the power distributor’s efforts to source 1,500 MW of its requirements from RE sources.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
