Coal plant operators dominate Meralco list of potential suppliers
Eight power generation companies, including subsidiaries of big conglomerates, have signified interest to participate in power firm Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) bidding for a long-term power supply contract.
Entities that attended Meralco’s prebid conference held virtually on Thursday were six operators of coal-fired power plants and two natural gas-fired power plants.
The firms were: Therma Luzon Inc. and GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co., affiliates of listed Aboitiz Power Corp. with coal power plants in the provinces of Quezon and Bataan.
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San Miguel Corp. affiliates Mariveles Power Generation Corp. and Masinloc Power Co. Ltd., which run coal facilities in Bataan and Zambales, and First Gas Power Corp. and First NatGas Power Corp., both subsidiaries of Lopez-led First Gen Corp. that operate natural gas facilities in Batangas province, also joined.
Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. of the DMCI Group, operator of a coal plant in Batangas, and Quezon Power (Philippines) Limited Co. owned by Thai firm Electricity Generating Public Co. complete the list.
“This [competitive selection process, or CSP] for Meralco’s baseload requirement gained the interest of the country’s major energy players, which reflects the private sector’s continuing efforts to ensure sufficient and cost-competitive supply for consumers,” Meralco vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said on Thursday.
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These eight bidders had offered to supply 1,870 megawatts (MW), exceeding the 600 MW needed by Meralco by next year.
“We look forward to the bid submissions of these prospective bidders next month,” he added.
Low-carbon future
Last month, Meralco kicked off the CSP to solicit bids involving 600 MW of baseload or uninterrupted power supply to meet its requirements starting next year.
The contract covers a 15-year power supply agreement targeted to begin on Aug. 26, 2025, subject to the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval.
According to Meralco’s terms of reference, “power suppliers with natural gas-fired power plants are highly encouraged to participate in the bidding and prioritize the use of indigenous natural gas.”
The government has been pushing for the development of natural gas facilities to transition into a low-carbon future.
Meralco’s bids and awards committee set the bid submission deadline for Aug. 2.
According to Meralco, baseload supply may come from a single or a portfolio of power plants as long as these are capable of generating power 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
The minimum offered capacity should be at least 150 MW.
A bidder should provide its proposed tariff indicating its offered capacity and the corresponding total delivered headline rate and total delivered levelized cost of electricity (or the average total cost of developing a power generation facility).
