SMC unit advances in 1,200-MW supply bid for Meralco
SAN MIGUEL group’s South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC) is advancing to the post-qualification stage after the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) declared its bid to supply 1,200 megawatts (MW) as the most favorable.
“The bids and awards committee for power supply agreements named South Premiere Power Corp. as the best bidder after submitting the lowest offer for Meralco’s baseload requirement,” the listed power distributor said in a statement on Wednesday.
“SPPC offered a total levelized cost of electricity rate at P7.0718 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the entire 1,200-MW requirement,” Meralco added.
SPPC is the administrator of the natural gas-fired power plant in Ilijan, Batangas.
Meanwhile, the unincorporated joint venture of Limay Power, Inc. (LPI) and San Roque Hydropower, Inc. (SRHI), one of the three bidders, put forward the second most competitive proposal, offering a rate of P7.1006 per kWh for a capacity of 150 MW, Meralco also said.
First NatGas Power Corp. (FNPC), led by the Lopez Group, offered a rate of P8.4489 per kWh.
“Except for the offer of FNPC, all other offers received were below the P7.1538 per kWh reserve price set for this competitive selection process (CSP),” Meralco said, citing the bids and awards committee.
The committee is “set to conduct a post-qualification evaluation and submit its recommendation and report to Meralco’s Board of Directors for approval of the best bid as the winning power supplier prior to the issuance of a notice of award,” the power distributor also said.
SPCC, LPI, and SRHI are subsidiaries of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp., the power arm of listed conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
“All contracts resulting from this CSP will be subject to the regulatory proceedings of the Energy Regulatory Commission,” said Lawrence S. Fernandez, Meralco bids and awards committee chair.
The CSP, a government-mandated transparent bidding process, aims to select the least-cost of electricity supply.
Meralco said that the resulting 15-year power supply agreement (PSA) from this CSP will cover its future capacity requirements, “including the 1,000 MW (net) supply that was covered by its PSAs with change in circumstance cases that are pending resolution.” — S.J. Talavera
