The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said it will be forced to get 260 megawatts (M W) of electricity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) after failed biddings.
The company was supposed to negotiate a bilateral contract with San Roque Hydropower Inc. which was the lone bidder for the recent failed biddings.
However, San Roque backed out as it will not be able to generate a significant portion of the target 260 MW peaking contract capacity for the period required due to El Niño.
Meralco said it has not received any other offers for the required 260 MW peaking capacity intended to be contracted until July 25 this year.
Historically, the price of electricity in the WESM shoots up during the dry season when most power plants are on unscheduled outages due to extreme temperatures.
Jose Ronald Valles, Meralco first vice president and regulatory management head, said the company’s only available option for the 260 MW peaking power requirement is WESM.
The 260 MW peaking requirement is needed to boost the supply agreements for 1,000 MW and another 400 MW earlier secured by the company.
Valles said the 400 MW PSA with Limay Power Inc. for P6.2708 per kilowatt-hour inclusive of value-added tax and line rental, has also yet to receive a provisional authority from the Energy Regulatory Commission and therefore cannot be dispatched.
