Meralco starts bidding process for 1,200-MW supply

Manila Electric Co. has started the competitive bidding process for a contract with a brand new power plant with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW).

This followed a successful competitive selection process held earlier this year for power supply agreements covering a total 1,200 MW of baseload capacity as well as 500 MW of mid-merit capacity.

Baseload refers to generators that will run around the clock to cover the minimum demand while mid-merit refers to power plants that are dispatched to augment baseload supply.

According to Meralco, the latest contract—which is good for 20 years—requires that the new power plant must start commercial operations in September 2024.

“Meralco continues to work with the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure the completion of the succeeding biddings,” said Jose Ronald V. Valles, first vice president and head of regulatory management at the company.

The power distribution giant “is confident that the next round of bidding will be successful once again as this will contribute to adding much-needed capacity to the Luzon grid as well as bring power rates further down for the benefit of our consumers,” Valles said in a statement.

The lawyer added that the terms of reference for the latest bidding “are pro-consumer, transparent and will result in least cost” as required by the the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

A third-party bids and awards committee is scheduled to conduct a pre-bid conference on Jan. 20. Submission and opening of bids are slated for Feb. 17.