SMC, Aboitiz win Meralco’s 600-MW supply deal

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has secured the lowest bids for its 600-megawatt (MW) baseload power supply requirement from power generators led by San Miguel Corp. and Aboitiz Power Corp.

Meralco announced on Tuesday there were eight participants in the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for the power supply agreement (PSA) but only six submitted their qualification documents, technical proposals and bid prices.

Of the final contenders, Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd (MPPCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., emerged as the best bidder, offering a total levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) rate of P5.6015 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 500 MW of capacity. The rate includes line rental costs and value-added tax.

Meanwhile, GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co., under the private limited partnership of AboitizPower’s Therma Power Inc. and AC Energy Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp. and Power Partners Ltd., also secured a portion of the contract.

GNPower Dinginin won to supply the remaining 100 MW of the baseload requirement at an LCOE rate of P5.7392 per kWh.

According to Meralco’s Bids and Awards Committee for Power Supply Agreements (BAC-PSA), both offers significantly undercut the reserve price of P7.2609 per kWh set for the bidding process, delivering potential savings for Meralco and its customers.

Notably, Mariveles Power Generation Corp. and Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. Co. were declared as the next possible best bids, offering P6.4017 per kWh for 200 MW and P6.5487 per kWh for 400 MW, respectively.