Meralco sees interest from top power firms for 200-MW RE supply

SUBSIDIARIES of ACEN Corp., First Gen Corp., San Miguel Global Holdings Corp. (SMGP), and Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) are looking to bid for Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) 200-megawatt (MW) renewable energy (RE) supply requirements.

All 15 companies that expressed interest and attended Thursday’s pre-bid conference were major players in the country’s power sector.

Ayala-led ACEN Corp., along with its subsidiaries SanMar Solar, Negros Island Solar, and Sinocalan Solar Power, indicated interest in supplying Meralco’s renewable energy needs.

Lopez-led First Gen and its subsidiaries, including First Gen Hydro, Energy Development Corp., BacMan Geothermal, and Greencore Geothermal, also participated in the conference.

SMGP subsidiaries Mariveles Power Generation, GNPower Kauswagan, GNPower Mariveles Energy Center, and Sual Power expressed their interest in joining the bidding.

Aboitiz Power Corp.’s subsidiaries, including AP Renewable Energy, Therma Luzon, and Therma Visayas, are also expected to participate.

AboitizPower, SMGP, First Gen, and ACEN were the country’s leading power producers, dominating the national market share last year, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Since the bid submission deadline on Feb. 16 is after the proposed effective date of Jan. 26, Meralco said the latter will be moved depending on when the ERC approves the resulting power supply contract.

The four-year agreement aims to help Meralco comply with the Renewable Portfolio Standards, which require distribution utilities to source a portion of their electricity from eligible renewable energy sources.

Suppliers, whether renewable, conventional, or a combination, can fulfill the supply requirements from their own plants or the spot market, provided that renewable energy certificates (RECs) are guaranteed. Each REC represents a megawatt-hour of electricity generated from eligible RE sources.

“As a highly regulated entity, Meralco remains fully committed to upholding the highest standards of transparency, fairness, and regulatory compliance throughout the CSP (competitive selection process),” said Lawrence S. Fernandez, chairman of Meralco’s bids and awards committee for power supply agreements.

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