Solar developer PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc. matched the price offer of Asian solar developer Soleq to supply 50 megawatts of solar capacity to retailer Manila Electric Co.
Meralco senior vice president and head of customer retail services, corporate marketing and communications Al Panlilio confirmed that PowerSource reduced its initial price offer of P5.39 per kilowatt-hour to P4.69 per kWh.
“PowerSource matched the offer,” Panlilio said. Soleq offered a price of P4.69 per kWh when it challenged the higher offer of PowerSource.
The move will likely allow PowerSource to get a supply contract with Meralco, the country’s biggest power distributor.
Meralco president Oscar Reyes earlier said the company was evaluating the offer of 7 Balboa or Soleq, lower than the offer of PowerSource.
Soleq owns four operating solar assets in the Philippines which include the country’s biggest solar facility namely the 132.5-MW Helios solar project in Cadiz, Negros Occidental.
“There was one price challenge for the PowerSource and none for Solar Philippines. We’re still evaluating,” Reyes said.
PowerSource proposed to supply Meralco with 50 MW of solar capacity for 20 years from its planned power plant in San Miguel, Bulacan.
Reyes said the offer of Solar Philippines Tanauan Corp. for a total of 50 MW from its two projects in Batangas and Cavite did not receive any price challenge from other developers.
Solar Philippines offered to supply Meralco 50 MW for 20 years starting February 2017.
Reyes said the power supply offers would be reviewed and approved by Meralco based on “track record, capability, reliability, pricing.”
Meralco earlier issued two separate price challenge invitation as a part of the compliance to the rules of the Energy Regulatory Commission on the competitive selection process.
Meralco senior vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez earlier said the agreements with the two solar developers reflected the company’s support to renewable energy.