Meralco: AboitizPower unit leads 400-MW bid

A UNIT of Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) will undergo post-qualification evaluation after submitting the lowest bid for Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) 400-megawatt (MW) supply contract, the power distributor announced on Tuesday.

GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) offered to supply the 400-MW mid-merit requirement at P7.6816 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) during Tuesday’s bid opening.

Other contenders were San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp.’s Sual Power, Inc. and Masinloc Power Co. Ltd. (MPCL), which offered P7.7416 per kWh for 300 MW and P7.8567 per kWh for 200 MW, respectively.

All offers were well below the P8.0585 per kWh reserve price.

Of the six bidders that expressed interest in participating in the competitive selection process (CSP), only the three power generation firms submitted their qualification documents, technical proposals, and bid prices, according to a bid bulletin.

Meralco’s Bids and Awards Committee for power supply agreements (BAC-PSA) said that all three bidders met the criteria in the bidding documents and prequalification evaluation.

A post-qualification evaluation will occur within seven days from the best bid notification, before issuing the notice of award and executing the PSA. The evaluation will further determine to the BAC-PSA’s satisfaction “whether the interested bidders with the best bids comply with and are responsive to all the requirements and conditions specified in the bidding documents.”

The resulting 15-year PSA is targeted to start by Aug. 26, 2025.

This will undergo the review and approval process of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) prior to implementation.

In August, Meralco announced that it had secured the lowest offers from MPCL and GNPD for its 600-MW baseload supply requirement.

The power supply contracts, which will run for 15 years, are set to take effect on Aug. 26, 2025, subject to regulatory proceedings and approval by the ERC.

As a highly regulated entity, the power distributor has said that it conducts CSP in full compliance with the rules and regulations issued by the ERC and the Department of Energy.

“The CSP ensures an open and transparent process that ensures fairness and integrity,” BAC Chairman Lawrence S. Fernandez said.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera