The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved Manila Electric Company’s (Meralco) power supply agreements (PSAs) with Gigasol and San Roque Hydropower Inc. (SRHI), allowing their implementation at the applied rates that resulted from the competitive selection process (CSP).

ERC Chairperson and CEO Francis Saturnino C. Juan confirmed the approval in a sidelines interview after the second energy forum of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) held at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Makati on September 11, 2025.

Juan said Meralco filed an urgent motion for resolution because failure to implement the contracts would leave the utility short of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) needed to comply with the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). This would have forced Meralco to purchase RECs from the open market, which, despite a price cap, would have added to consumer costs. 

“Kung hindi niya ma-implement itong mga … supply coming from these two generation companies at hindi siya makagenerate ng enough RECs, mapipilitan siyang mamili from the RE market. Eh yung RE market although may price cap … that will be an additional cost on the part of Meralco,” Juan said.

He emphasized that the approvals were anchored on the CSP outcomes. “What we considered was yung application … the final decision that we rendered, we based it on the applied rates and the rationale being that this was already the product of the competitive selection process.” He added that after benchmarking against other suppliers, “These proposed rates from SRHI and GigaSol are comparable, in fact, even lower” for the same mid-merit product.

Juan framed the decisions as part of a faster, more urgent stance by the ERC to avoid higher consumer rates and delays in new capacity. “We are acting with extreme urgency right now. Wala kami ngayon na parang dati na papetek-petek, parelax-relax,” he said, noting that the Commission had already promulgated the decision and that supply delivery will begin once the parties finalize their schedules.

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