Meralco seeks challengers for 500-MW supply of Ahunan Power

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is seeking challengers for the unsolicited proposal for the 500-megawatt (MW) renewable energy supply submitted by Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. subsidiary Ahunan Power Inc.

Meralco said it has started the competitive selection process (CSP) for Ahunan Power’s unsolicited offer to supply 500 MW of the company’s mid-merit power requirement starting 2026.

The power distributor, through its Third-Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC), is inviting interested parties to challenge Ahunan Power, which offered a P4.0511 per kilowatt-hour headline rate and levelized cost of electricity, exclusive of pumping/charging energy cost, for the 20-year contract that will start on February 26, 2026.

Ahunan Power intends to source the supply from pumped storage hydroelectric power plant projects in Pakil, Laguna and San Mateo and Antipolo, Rizal.

The company’s offer was granted original proponent status last June 29 by Meralco.

With the OPS, Ahunan’s offer will be subject to competitive challenge under the rules of the Department of Energy (DOE), with the company having the right to match any comparative proposals.

Based on the CSP’s approved terms of reference, the supply can come from a single or portfolio of plants, provided that the minimum configuration is sufficient to meet the contract capacity.

The guaranteed output should also be solely contracted to Meralco.

It further provides that 100 percent of the contract capacity should be available for six to 12 hours daily covering Meralco’s peak hours for at least 84 hours a week.

Meralco said interested challengers have until Aug. 10 to submit their expression of interest, with a pre-bid conference scheduled on the following day.

Bid submission deadline is set on Sept. 14.

After the opening of pre-qualification document submissions on the same day, the TPBAC will declare the number of days needed for the pre-qualification evaluation.

Meralco said opening of bid prices and notification of best bid would take place not earlier than seven days after the TPBAC’s issuance of bid bulletin announcing the results of the pre-qualification evaluation.

According to Meralco, the CSP round is in compliance with the DOE’s renewable portfolio standards policy and forms part of its efforts to source up to 1,500-MW of its power requirements from renewable energy sources.

Meralco earlier this year received an unsolicited proposal from Terra Solar to supply 850-MW of mid-merit power.

However, failure of bidding were declared after two rounds of CSPs due to lack of challengers.

As a result, Meralco started direct negotiations with the original proponent, consistent with the revised CSP rules.

Once signed and finalized, Meralco said the power supply agreement would be submitted for review and approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission.

“We will move ahead with the execution of sourcing strategies that include our planned CSPs, consistent with our Power Supply Procurement Plan, in a timely manner to ensure availability of cost-competitive power for our customers in the long-term,” Meralco president and CEO Ray Espinosa said.