Sual Power submits lowest bid for Meralco’s 200-MW supply

SAN MIGUEL Group’s Sual Power, Inc. is advancing to the final review stage after submitting the lowest offer to supply Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) 200-megawatt (MW) baseload requirement.

Sual Power emerged as the leading bidder among six generation companies that submitted proposals with a combined offering capacity of 531 MW, the power distributor said in a statement on Tuesday.

The power generator offered P4.2955 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the entire 200-MW requirement, which was declared the best bid.

Sual Power, a subsidiary of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp., operates the 1,200-MW thermal plant in Pangasinan province. The plant is the largest coal-fired power facility in the Philippines by installed capacity and has been supplying power to the Luzon grid since 1999.

Other bidders included Mariveles Power Generation Corp., which offered P4.3805 per kWh for the full supply; Bac-Man Geothermal, Inc., which submitted P4.5187 per kWh for 35 MW; and San Manuel Solar, Inc., which offered P4.5787 per kWh for 25 MW.

Next on the list were ACEN Corp., offering P5.2087 per kWh for 25 MW, and First Gen Hydro Power Corporation, with P5.4906 per kWh for 25 MW.

Mariveles Power is another unit of San Miguel Global Power and is developing a 600-MW coal-fired plant in Mariveles, Bataan. Bac-Man Geothermal and First Gen Hydro are renewable energy firms under the Lopez group, while ACEN is the listed energy platform of the Ayala group.

“As in previous years, this CSP has successfully secured the required power supply for customers at the lowest possible cost, achieved through an open and transparent process,” Meralco Bids and Awards Committee for Power Supply Agreements (BAC-PSA) Chairman Lawrence S. Fernandez said.

The BAC-PSA will conduct a post-qualification evaluation before issuing a notice of award and executing the power supply agreement with the winning bidder.

Distribution utilities hold a competitive selection process (CSP) to secure power supply agreements (PSA) at the lowest cost.

The resulting PSA from this CSP will cover Meralco’s 200-MW baseload requirement over four years to comply with the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), which require distribution utilities to source a portion of their energy supply from eligible renewable energy sources.

The deal remains subject to approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“As a highly regulated entity, Meralco conducted the CSP in full compliance with the rules and regulations issued by the ERC and the Department of Energy,” the company said.

Meralco’s controlling shareholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera