Meralco, ERC and UP Diliman sign MOA to pilot retail aggregation
THE Manila Electric Company (Meralco), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman), will pilot an implementation of Retail Aggregation that will allow the academic institution to choose its preferred supplier of electricity for the combined power requirements of the various buildings within the campus.
Retail Aggregation Program is a scheme provided under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) wherein two or more electricity end-users within a contiguous area can join together to pool their demand and be treated as a single Contestable Customer, thereby enabling it to participate in Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA).
RCOA is a policy provided under EPIRA that allows electricity end-users classified by the ERC as a Contestable Customer to directly negotiate its power rates and enter into retail electricity supply contract with its preferred supplier.
The state university signified its intent to explore retail choice mechanisms to comply with the directive of the Interagency Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAECC) under the government Energy Management Program (GEMP), to reduce the government’s monthly electricity consumption.
To provide UP Diliman what it needs to participate in the retail supply market and minimize incremental costs, Meralco
proposed the use of meters with remote data collection capability and electronic tabulation of individual readings of buildings within the campus.
This pilot implementation, which will be done in phases, will cover all 149 customer accounts within the campus with a combined demand of 4.27 MW.
“For the entire university system, this is a way for us to fulfill our mandate to harness our resources, including our campuses and academic community, toward our quest for national development, by supporting the initiatives of our government agencies, our private sector, and our communities,” UP President Atty. Danilo L. Concepcion said.
Meralco First Vice President and Head of Regulatory Management Office Atty. Jose Ronald V. Valles said: “We would like to recognize the ERC for its instrumental role in this partnership, particularly by the promulgation of the necessary rules and regulations governing retail aggregation. Their guidance and oversight have shaped both this pilot implementation and retail aggregation for the rest of the country. Beyond retail aggregation, we are hopeful that this project will be the first of many initiatives where Meralco can work with the ERC and University of the Philippines to bring innovation and customer empowerment to our kababayans.”