The Department of Energy (DOE) said Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) planned competitive selection process (CSP) worth 1,200 megawatts (MW) of baseload power will be pursued but will be implemented with adjustments.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said changes that Meralco agreed to incorporate in the terms of reference (TOR) for the CSP include rules that will allow bidders for the capacity to come from multiple power plants instead of coming only from a sole project developer.
“(The TOR) was adjusted, they submitted, suggested and articulated… And finally, there was meeting of minds… They asked for authority to publish (the TOR) and we’ve given it so the details will be published soon,” Cusi said.
Prior to this, Meralco had relaxed the TOR for the CSP where it was set to allow the inclusion of power plants with a minimum block configuration of 150 MW per unit compared to the previous 600 MW per unit.
Cusi said the DOE suggested that Meralco also allow merchant power plants to place their bids in the CSP that the latter is planning.
“We are encouraging merchant power plants so that infrastructure is ahead even without PSA (power supply agreements). They are looking at selling in the market and be able to participate in the coming CSP,” Cusi said.
