The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has secured another 370 megawatts (MW) power supply capacity from Aboitiz Power subsidiary Therma Luzon Inc. (TLI) under emergency power supply agreement (EPSA).
The company said the agreement for the capacity will last for a year with a price of P8.14 per kilowatt hour (kWh). Implementation date was April 12, 2023.
“(Therma’s) tariff is below P8 per kWh but if we add replacement power due to 44 days of outage allowance, rate goes up to above P8 per kWh,” said Ronald Valles, Meralco first vice president and head of regulatory management office, during a virtual briefing on Monday.
TLI has a 700 MW coal-fired power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon.
Meralco has been pursuing capacities under EPSA citing that it will help shield electricity consumers from volatile and potentially higher generation costs in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market which is historically recorded during the dry season when power demand spikes.
Earlier, Meralco also signed a 300 MW and another 180 MW EPSA with San Miguel Corp.’s South Premiere Power Corp. that will also last for a year.
The 300 MW capacity was implemented on March 26, 2023 while the 180 MW was implemented last April 1, 2023 for a price of P8.35 per kWh. -Jed Macapagal
