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MANILA – As the 300-megawatt emergency power supply agreement (EPSA) between Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Aboitiz-led GNPower Dinginin Ltd. expired Wednesday, Meralco said it will be supplying the needed power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
In a statement, Meralco said it will source the whole 670 MW capacity from WESM starting Thursday to cover the PSA with San Miguel Corp.’s South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC), which was halted by a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) of the Court of Appeals in December 2022.
Earlier, Meralco and GNPower Dinginin had a 300-MW EPSA to partially source the 670-MW PSA from SPPC that was lost due to the TRO.
The EPSA with GNPower Dinginin was for the period of Dec.15, 2022 to Jan. 25, 2023.
“Meralco is closely working with the Department of Energy and all relevant industry players to ensure adequate supply and protect its customers from volatile and higher WESM prices, which is especially crucial with the scheduled shutdown of the Malampaya natural gas facility next month and the anticipated increase in demand during the summer months,” Meralco said.
Meralco said it started the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for 480 MW supply in December 2022 targeted to be available by next month.
“Meralco assures its customers that it exhausts all measures to continue delivering stable and reliable electricity at the least cost under the current circumstances,” it added.
In a separate statement, AboitizPower Corp. confirmed that the EPSA expired Wednesday.
“Under the EPSA, the 300 MW power was derived from the new 1,336 MW GNPower Dinginin Plant in Mariveles, Bataan with a fixed price of PHP5.95 per kilowatt-hour,” AboitizPower said.
It added the company will participate if Meralco launches another CSP “where the terms of reference will be reasonable”. (PNA)
