The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) expressed readiness to address increased electricity demand following the official declaration of the dry season in the country.
However, Meralco called for increased participation in the government’s Interruptible Load Program (ILP).
“We are in constant coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE) in working to ensure the delivery of stable, reliable and continuous electricity service to customers during the summer months,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, in a statement.
“Meralco also proactively obtained additional power supply via a series of competitive selection processes (CSPs) to meet the growing electricity demand of its customers.
Recently, we secured an additional 400 megawatts (MW) interim power supply through a recently concluded CSP, subject to the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),” Zaldarriaga added.
Under the CSP, Limay Power Inc. submitted the lowest offer at P6.2708 per kilowatt-hour for 400 MW worth of baseload power supply until February 2025.
Meralco said the additional interim supply assures the least cost supply to customers once approved by the ERC. This will lessen the company’s exposure to the wholesale electricity spot market when prices are highly volatile due to high demand and thin supply.
Meralco is also seeking potential suppliers for another interim power supply of 260 MW to serve its peaking requirements also in anticipation of a surge in demand during the dry season.
The power distributor advocates for the expanded participation in the ILP.
Under the ILP, customers with large electricity consumption are encouraged to run their own generator sets whenever supply of electricity in the grid is short in exchange for monetary incentives.
The fuel they will use in running their own power source are then paid by consumers.
There are 105 companies enrolled in the ILP within the Meralco franchise which is equivalent to 530 MW of total de-loading capacity.
