Manila Electric Co. said Tuesday it would proceed with negotiations with Solar Philippine Batangas Baseload Corp. over the latter’s unsolicited proposal for 200-megawatt baseload supply after other companies did not submit any competitive bids in the second round of the competitive selection process.
Meralco’s third-party bids and awards committee said in a report it did not receive any competitive bids from any challenger during the bid submission deadline on Jan. 10.
“SPBBC will provide the capacity using solar and battery in compliance with Meralco’s Renewable Portfolio Standards requirement,” Meralco vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said.
“Once negotiations are completed, Meralco will enter into a power supply agreement with the original proponent and seek regulatory approval for the contract,” Fernandez said.
The TPBAC said that as there was no outstanding dispute on the first and second rounds of the competitive challenge for the contract, the distribution utility may enter into direct negotiation for the contract capacity requirement, as provided by the revised CSP rules.
SPBBC’s offer involves a 20-year contract starting 2024 at P4.65 per kilowatt-hour at 100-percent capacity factor.
It will source its contract capacity and guaranteed output from its 1,800-MW solar project and 1,800-MWh of battery energy storage system.
SPBBC may also get backup power from other plants in its renewable energy portfolio.
Meralco, the country’s biggest power retailer with more than 7.5 million customers, has been trying to provide the least-cost power supply to consumers by diversifying its generation portfolio.