SMC, Ayala offer lower rates for Meralco’s clean energy needs

Subsidiaries of the San Miguel and Ayala groups have offered lower rates for Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) renewable energy supply needs totaling 500 megawatts (MW).

In a statement on Thursday, the power distributor said San Roque Hydropower Inc. (SRHI), Gigasol3 Inc. and Santa Cruz Solar Energy Inc. (SCSEI) offered to supply its clean energy requirements at rates below bid prices.

SRHI is one of the subsidiaries under listed conglomerate San Miguel Corp. through San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. while Gigasol3 and SCSEI are part of Ayala Corp.’s listed energy platform, ACEN Corp.

READ: Meralco seeks bids for 500-MW renewable energy supply

All three entities submitted bids below the P8.2380 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) reserve price set by Meralco for the competitive selection process.

SHRI gave the lowest offer price of P7.10 per kWh for the supply of 340 MW. Gigasol3 proposed P8.1819 per kWh for 139 MW, while SCSEI is selling at P8.1998 per kWh for 21 MW.

Meralco said the offers underwent a “stringent” pass/fail completeness assessment and prequalification evaluation, but a postqualification assessment was still needed.

Meralco has yet to set a schedule for the announcement of the winning bidder or bidders.

READ: Meralco group secures P2.9-B funding for solar farms in Nueva Ecija, Isabela

Once finalized, the agreement will last for 10 years. It will cover Meralco’s 350-MW mid-merit requirement beginning February 2025, increasing by 150 MW come February 2026.

Mid-merit refers to supply fed into the transmission system to fill any gap in the stockpile caused by a shoot up in demand.

Electricity suppliers including Meralco are mandated by the Department of Energy to procure a part of their annual energy demand from eligible renewable energy sources via the latter’s Renewable Portfolio Standards.

Meralco has so far contracted 1,880 MW of renewable capacity from various suppliers—exceeding its initial target of 1,500 MW.

“Through its strategic sourcing initiatives, renewable energy is expected to account for 22 percent of Meralco’s supply portfolio by 2030,” it added.

While renewable energy is criticized for being more expensive than fossil-based fuels, economies around the world are pushing for a more widespread use of cleaner sources to combat climate change. The Philippines is hoping to increase the share of renewable energy in the power mix to 35 percent by 2030 from the current 22 percent.