Meralco inks deal for Visayas power supply

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s largest power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has inked power supply deals with two independent power producer (IPP) administrators in Visayas to augment capacity this coming summer.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Meralco said it signed separate interim power supply agreements (IPSA) with Toledo Power Co. and Panay Power Corp. for the supply of 28 megawatts (MW) and 45 MW, respectively, last Jan. 22.

“The IPSA shall become effective upon provisional or final approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and shall expire on Feb. 25, 2017, unless terminated earlier or extended,” Meralco said.

Under the deal, Toledo Power will supply up to 28 MW while Panay Power will contract energy of up to 45 MW from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Saturdays.

Meralco said the IPSA was entered into to “address its capacity requirement arising during the summer months and from scheduled maintenance shutdowns or forced plant outages from its contracted generating plants to mitigate its exposure to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).”

Last week, Meralco contracted up to 170 MW from 1590 Energy Corp., one of the generating units of listed Vivant Corp.

These three IPPAs submitted bids to the power distributor for the added supply this summer.

Meralco then conducted a bidding to challenge the offers, in accordance with the Department of Energy (DOE) directive for distribution companies and electric cooperatives to undergo competitive selection process (CSP) in securing power supply deals, but did not receive counter offers.

The power distributor currently serves over 5.7 million customers in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal, as well as certain areas in Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga and Quezon.