Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said it secured a 200 megawatts (MW) emergency power supply agreement (EPSA) from Sual Power Inc.’s 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant in Pangasinan.
Jose Ronald Valles, Meralco head of regulatory management, told reporters in a briefing in Taguig City on Monday the term of the contract was from Jan. 26, 2025, to Jan. 25, 2026, at a contract price of P5.05 per kilowatt hour (kWh) and a line rental cap of P0.1 per kWh.
Valles said the company was forced to have the EPSA to ensure there is enough power supply in its franchise area especially during the summer months, after ACEN terminated a 200 MW supply deal last November.
Meralco received offers from six suppliers but Sual Power bested offers from Mariveles Power Generation Corp., Southwest Luzon Power, First Natural Gas, Therma South Luzon and South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp., he added.
“This is a guaranteed supply without any outage allowance. Parties already implemented the EPSA due to the urgency, starting January 26, 2025 and the application is currently undergoing pre-filing with ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission),” Valles said.
Meralco said the ERC was notified of its need to enter into an EPSA, while also revisiting its power supply procurement plan to determine if there is a need to conduct a competitive selection process to fully replace ACEN’s terminated agreement.
