SMC, Aboitiz units submit lowest bids for 1,800-MW Meralco power supply
MANILA, Philippines —Subsidiaries of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and Aboitiz Power Corp. have submitted the best bids for distributor Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) crucial 1,800-megawatt (MW) supply requirement, which is meant to meet its customers’ growing demand in the next 15 years.
In a statement, Meralco said SMC units Mariveles Power Generation Corp. (MPGC) and Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (Eeri), as well as AboitizPower’s GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD), offered the lowest levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).
LCOE measures the average cost of operating a power plant over its lifetime.
According to Meralco, GNPD offered a rate of P6.858 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 300 MW, while MPGC offered P6.9971 per kWh for another 300 MW.
READ: Meralco to parcel out 1,800 MW of needed power supply
Eeri offered P7.1094 per kWh for 1,200 MW, or the biggest share of the total capacity.
“As a regulated entity, Meralco has conducted its business in full compliance with all rules and regulations issued by the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) and DOE (Department of Energy),” said Larry Fernandez, chair of the Meralco Bids and Awards Committee for Power Supply Agreements (BAC-PSA).
READ: Meralco calls for more power supply as warm months near
The distributor noted that Masinloc Power Co. Ltd., another SMC subsidiary, also submitted an offer of P7.1417-per-kWh for 300 MW.
But as Eeri’s bid had already completed the 1,800-MW capacity requirement, Masinloc’s was designated the possible next best bid, Meralco said.
Prior to the issuance of notices of award, the BAC-PSA will first conduct a post-qualification evaluation and submit its recommendation and report to Meralco’s board of directors for approval.
The resulting PSAs from the competitive selection process will cover Meralco’s baseload requirement for 15 years starting December 2024.
Meralco conducted the bidding to replace its 2021 PSAs with Eeri and Masinloc that were terminated in early 2023.
The two SMC companies had filed for contract terminations, citing approval delays on the part of the ERC.
