Semirara targets retail electricity contracts

Sem-Calaca RES Corporation (SCRC), the retail electricity supplier (RES) arm of Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC), is eyeing contestable customers for possible contracts after receiving its license to operate from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

To develop its client base, SCRC has been aggressively marketing to contestable customers qualified under current ERC regulations.

As of June, 2017, the Competitive Retail Electricity Market (CREM) reports that there are 1,377 contestable customers in Luzon while there are 184 contestable customers in Visayas with a total demand of around 3,830 MW.

Some 713 of these contestable customers with a total demand of about 1,780 MW are still getting their power requirements from their Distribution Utilities.

“We are not an early entrant but we’re optimistic about our prospects. The unserved market is sizable and we are well positioned to compete despite the stiff market situation,” said SMPC President and COO Victor A. Consunji.

The ERC previously set February 26 this year as the deadline for contestable customers with an average monthly peak demand of at least 1 megawatt (MW) to source power from a licensed RES.

However, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on this regulation as well as the reduction of the contestability threshold to 750 kilowatts (KW). Voluntary switching for 1-MW consumers continues to be in effect as they are not covered by the TRO.

SCRC will primarily source its power requirements from SMPC’s power generation assets Sem-Calaca Power Corporation (SCPC) and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation (SLPGC), which have a total combined capacity of 900 MW.