The emergency power supply agreement (ePSA) between the Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) and Aboitiz Power Corp. may be extended as it is set to expire next week.
In a report by Business Mirror, MERALCO first vice president Jose Ronald Valles said that they have received advice from Aboitiz that it will extend an offer after January 25, but they have yet to receive anything with regards to the extension of the Dingingin plant.
Valles added that they have yet to know the capacity offer, “if it’s 300 megawatt (MW) or less,” and what the rates will be.
In December, Aboitiz Power, through GNPower Dinginin Ltd., and MERALCO signed a 300 MW baseload emergency supply deal that partially replaced the 670 MW capacity under the latter’s PSA with South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC), which was subject to a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Court of Appeals.
MERALCO earlier asked SPPC to cover the additional costs incurred as a result of the TRO.
In related developments, MERALCO is working on measures to help mitigate the impact of the possible tightening of power supply in the Luzon Grid in the coming summer months.
In a Philippine Star report, MERALCO vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said that they have been cooperating with the Department of Energy (DOE) for “various measures to mitigate the potential effect of tight supply, especially for summer 2023.”
MERALCO is currently conducting two competitive selection processes (CSP), involving a 300 MW peaking requirement from February 26 to July 25 and a 180 MW baseload supply from February 26 2023 to February 24, 2024.
Fernandez said that hopefully, the CSPs “will also shield MERALCO customers from spot market prices.”
