The Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) is seeking new bidders to supply its franchise area with 1,030 megawatts (MW) of electricity after the Department of Energy (DOE) cleared the power giant to conduct a second round of auctions.
Through its third-party bids and awards committee (TBPAC), MERALCO has issued separate bid invitations for its 180MW interim baseload requirement and its 850MW renewable energy (RE) mid-merit capacity for 20 years, which Terra Solar initially offered.
Interested parties for the 180MW bidding have until May 16 to submit their respective expressions of interest (EOI) on May 16 and until May 23 to submit their bids. Meanwhile, those interested in the 850MW bidding have until May 18 to submit their EOIs and until May 25 to give their bids.
MERALCO did not receive any EOI or power supply contract for the 180MW baseload requirement, which would be effective upon the issuance of notice of award and approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission until July 25, and is extendable for another five months.
The 180MW contract was meant to cover the output of power plants affected by the depletion of reserves from the Malampaya gas field.
On the other hand, the power giant recently declared a failure on the first round of bidding for the 850MW RE supply since SMC Global Power Holdings and SunAsia, which were supposed to challenge Terra Solar, backed out. Terra Solar is a joint venture between Leandro Leviste’s Solar Philippines and Enrique Razon’s Prime Infra.
Based on Section 9 of the DOE’s competitive selection process (CSP) rules, a CSP is considered a failed one if the TPBAC does not receive any comparative bid.