Meralco urged to push clean energy initiative

MANILA, Philippines — A green energy group is pushing for clean energy sources in the latest competitive selection process of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

The Power for People Coalition (P4P) said Meralco should take the 1,200-megawatt (MW) CSP as an opportunity to expand its renewable energy portfolio.

“We welcome the changes that Meralco made in their terms of reference for this second bidding after the Department of Energy’ prod, but we have not forgotten how intent Meralco is on making sure their customers are burdened by costly and dirty electricity from coal,” P4P convenor Gerry Arances said.

This as the group cited Meralco’s plans – announced in October – to develop at least 1,000 MW of renewable energy in five to seven years, even creating its own renewable energy subsidiary, MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen).

“We challenge Meralco to take on a new year’s resolution of securing clean and affordable electricity for its power requirements. This is how Meralco can prove that they have the consumers’ interest, not their own, at heart,” Arances said.

“As a private company responsible for crafting and executing its own bidding rules, Meralco has all the means to make the playing field level for renewable energy sources whose costs have been rapidly decreasing in the past decade,” he said.

The 1,200 MW bid is the third that Meralco is conducting following the Supreme Court’s decision to require all power contracts to undergo the CSP.

Last September, Meralco conducted the CSP for the 1,200-MW greenfield capacity, but was declared a failed bidding after only Atimonan One Energy Inc., a unit of Meralco Powergen Corp. (MGen), submitted its offer.

For the second round of the 1,200-MW CSP, Meralco first vice president and head of regulatory management Jose Ronald Valles said the power distributor “continues to work with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to ensure the completion of the succeeding biddings.” 

“Meralco is confident that the next round of bidding will be successful once again, as this will contribute to adding much-needed capacity to the Luzon grid, as well as bring power rates further down for the benefit of our consumers,” he said.

Meralco has relaxed the rules in the second round of CSP. For one, ower players can offer contract capacity at 600 MW blocks, and can bid using multiple units with a minimum capacity of 150 MW per unit and the same fuel type.

Also, bidders can offer fuel source “from a technology that complies with the prevailing emission standards under pertinent (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) DENR issuances on emission and other environmental standards for power plants.”

The first round called for bidders to contract the whole capacity of 1,200 MW and power plants should utilize high efficiency, low emission (HELE) technology.

“We assure the public that Meralco’s Terms of Reference (TOR) for the second invitation to bid are pro-consumer, transparent, and will result in least cost, as prescribed in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

We wish to thank the DOE and DOE Secretary Cusi for the leadership and guidance in the conduct of the recent successful, historic CSP last September, and we hope to successfully complete the succeeding CSPs for 2020,” Valles said.

Meralco remains committed to signing partnerships that can deliver competitive electricity for its customers.

Similar to the first 1,200 MW and 500 MW CSPs, the upcoming CSP bidding will be done in accordance with the DOE Circular requiring distribution utilities to procure power through a CSP.

The CSP will be administered by the Third-Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC) that was constituted pursuant to the DOE Circular.