Meralco, Aboitiz firms ink supply deals

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest electricity distributor, has signed power supply agreements with two Aboitiz-led power generation companies.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, Meralco said the deals with Therma Luzon Inc. and AP Renewables Inc. would cover the additional volume it would need during the six-month transition before the implementation of the open access and retail competition scheme in June.

These deals were necessary since National Power Corp. and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. extended their transition supply deal with Meralco only up to February.

The power supply deal with AP Renewables, which owns and operates the Tiwi-Makban geothermal facilities in Albay and Laguna, will result in cost savings of 5.81 centavos per kilowatt-hour in blended generation rate. The effective rate under this deal is P5.3747 per kWh.

The supply deal with Therma Luzon is expected to result in cost savings of 7.54 centavos per kWh in blended generation rate. The effective rate under this the deal is P5.7899per kWh.