Solar challenges Citicore’s Meralco power supply offer

SOLAR Philippines Power Project Holdings, Inc. confirmed on Thursday that it had challenged the P3.50 per kilowatt-hour ( kWh) offered by Citicore Power, Inc. to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

“The exact rate will be made public next week, but what we can disclose is it should be the lowest true cost of generation in Philippine history,” the company said in a statement.

The company’s statement follows Meralco’s confirmation on Tuesday that only one company challenged the proposed price under the power supply agreement between the distribution utility and renewable energy company Citicore.

Solar Philippines said it was the lone challenger after the bid submission deadline of Aug. 14, the date set by Meralco when it published on June 28 an invitation to bid in a competitive selection process ( CSP) for the 85 megawatts (MW) offered by Citicore.

In July, Solar Philippines submitted to the country’s electric utilities a plan to replace planned coal plants with 5,000 MW of solar-battery farms, at a rate to be disclosed at a later time.

Leandro L. Leviste, Solar Philippines president, said: “We have opted to sacrifice our returns to offer Meralco consumers the same price on 85 MW as we have offered for 5,000 MW.”

“[ W] e hope this price will signal that Solar- Battery farms offer the least cost for the Philippines, such that even fossil fuel companies will convert to solar, to improve their returns through lower costs,” he added.