A unit of the Semirara Mining and Power Corp. will appropriate 420 megawatts (MW) of its power units with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), according to the power distributor’s local retail electricity supplier (RES).
The power supply agreement (PSA) with the Sem-Calaca Power Corp. will be effective starting June 29, 2019 until June 25, 2029, and may also include a four-year extension.
The 10-year deal will have Semirara allocate at least $150 million to restore the coal-fueled 2×300 MW power plant in Calaca, Batangas to sustain its quality and economic life.
Operations to facilitate the Sem-Calaca energy house is assumed to begin in 2018.
Meanwhile, Meralco’s MPower will represent the power retail in the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) regime, thanks to its 10-year PSA with a large power network as Semirara.
The RCOA is a program that “allows a contestable customer to choose its retail electricity supplier to supply its power at the most competitive cost that satisfies the customer’s specific requirements.” See the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) RCOA guide here.
As of late, MPower has 18% of the contestable customers across the country.
Contestable customers with peak demand of 1 MW were instructed to shift to RCOA on February 26, 2016, while those with less than 1 MW down to 750 kilowatts (kW) is scheduled on June 26 this year.
Upon this changes, Meralco has built Vantage Energy Solutions and Management Inc.on November 29, 2016, in line with its RES license application to serve the contestable market.
RCOA has required all distribution utilities (DU) to subtract their local RES down to three years before they apply to obtain said license.
However, the court is still in limbo with the ERC’s issuance on the nationwide mandatory shift to RCOA along with the implementation of new rules.