The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has opened its bidding for 1,200 MW of capacity needs that will be used to supply its customers.
This follows the Supreme Court’s decision that requires all power supply agreements to undergo a competitive selection process.
“Pursuant to the DOE Circular 2018-02-0003, Meralco, through the Third Party Bids and Awards Committee [TPBAC], hereby invites all interested and qualified parties to participate in the CSP in respect of the following proposed supply of electricity,” Meralco told BusinessMirror reporters.
Meralco Utility Head Economics Lawrence Fernandez told BusinessMirror that Meralco has three lined up CSPs which will be put up for bidding for more capacity needs.
“This is the first of three invitations to bid published. The three CSPs to be conducted are in accordance with the Power Supply Procurement Plan that Meralco submitted to the Department of Energy [DOE],” said Fernandez.
Distribution utilities (DUs) are expected to conduct a CSP when securing power deals via bilateral contracts as it is meant to ensure that there is transparency and fair competition in the process.
The 1,200 MW capacity will be supplied to the power distribution firm for 10 years from December 26, 2019 to December 25, 2029.
In addition, Meralco has the power to reduce the contract capacity by up to 600 MW from December 26, 2023 to December 25, 2025, according to the bid invite.
Included in the conditions is that if the supplier fails to provide power from its nominated power plant or portfolio of power plants, the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) or any other source, the supplier shall pay a fine around P908 multiplied by each MW per day, which will be used to reduce the generation charge of the consumers.
Interested participants will have to pay P2,500 fee per MW of offered contract capacity, submit an expression of interest and confidentiality taking, as well as purchase bid documents from Meralco’s third party bids and awards committee (TPBAC) on or before July 26.
The TPBAC will hold a pre-bid conference on August 8, while submission of bids starts on September 9.
Interested bidders can qualify by submitting its qualification documents, technical proposal and a bid security of P3.3 million per MW of offered contract capacity on or before September 9.
Meanwhile, Meralco earlier sealed seven PSAs with several power-generation companies, with its subsidiary Meralco Power Gen Corp. The seven PSAs have a capacity of around 3, 500 MW.
