Bidders for the Manila Electric Company’s (MERALCO) Competitive Selection Process (CSP) this January have raised various concerns during the virtual pre-bid conference Thursday.
MERALCO utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez said that the concerns raised by 17 of the 18 bidders present touched on the power auction’s terms of reference and the power supply agreements (PSAs) that would be awarded among others.
Fernandez added that the Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC) will release a Bid Bulletin next week, which would contain the written responses to all the bidders’ questions.
The CSP, which will be held on January 25, 2021, aims to supply MERALCO’s 1,800-megawatt (MW) requirements. The power giant has received a total of 18 Expressions of Interest with an aggregate offered capacity of 6,050MW.
MERALCO did not reveal the bidders’ identities, but some of them have verbally expressed previously their participation in the power auction. Among them are Atimonan One Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corporation, Aboitiz Power Corporation, San Miguel Corporation, and Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corporation.
The bidders have until Christmas Eve to post their additional questions to the TPBAC’s responses to their initial queries, while they have until the CSP day itself to submit their bids.
Winning bidders will be awarded 20-year PSAs with MERALCO.