MANILA -Distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will source 1,800 megawatts (MW) of crucial power supply from more than one supplier, after six potential bidders expressed interest in providing only a fraction of the total required capacity.
In a text message on Wednesday, Meralco head of utility economics Larry Fernandez, who also chairs the company’s bids and awards committee for power supply agreements, confirmed that the suppliers offered an aggregate capacity of 3,310 MW.
“None of the offers were for the full 1,800 MW,” Fernandez said. He did not give more details.
Meralco reopened bidding for the full capacity earlier this month after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved the termination of the company’s previous supply deals with subsidiaries of conglomerate San Miguel Corp.
Meralco head of regulatory management Jose Ronald Valles previously clarified that if no supplier was capable of providing the entire 1,800 MW, then interested parties could submit bids for partial capacities that must be available by next year.
READ: Meralco seeks partner in big power deal
“The last time we bid this out, there were more than three who participated in the bidding … If they are not going to bid the entire 1,800 MW, they can bid a portion of the 1,800 MW,” he told reporters.
Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (Eeri) and Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. (MPPCL) won the first round of bidding for 1,200 MW and 600 MW, respectively, in March 2021.
The two SMC units filed for contract terminations in March this year, citing approval delays on the part of the ERC.
READ: ERC approves termination of Meralco, SMC deals
The new schedule for bidding also came after the ERC and the Department of Energy issued new guidelines for the competitive selection process.
Under the revised policy, the winning bidders will get a maximum contract term of 15 years, which is shorter than the 20-year contracts that Eeri and MPPCL had each won.
ERC Chair Monalisa Dimalanta had explained that longer contracts increased the risk of exposure to pricing uncertainties.
“The longer we go beyond that, the less confidence we have that the price is still truly least cost,” she added.
The prebid conference for the Meralco deal is set for Nov. 20. All bids must be submitted by Dec. 26.