Meralco considering Solar PH bid
MANILA Electric Co. is considering Solar Philippines’ bid to provide cheap round-the-clock power supply to Meralco in a move to diversify its energy sources, a top executive said.
Solar Philippines last month said it had submitted an offer to supply power 24/7 to Meralco at P2.99 per kWh, proposing to use solar energy and battery storage to supply customers with reliable and clean energy at a lower cost than gas.
“We’re trying to also diversify our sources just in case, because, for example, a typhoon hits a particular area, there’s no solar power,” Meralco Chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters at the sidelines of the induction Association of the Philippines (EJAP)
Lopez-led First NatGas Power Corp. had earlier submitted an unsolicited proposal for the supply of power from its 414-megawatt (MW) San Gabriel gas power plant at P3.7742 per kilowatt per hour (kWh).
“It was a higher price than P2.99. By the way, it’s different because [First] NatGas is gas and Solar [Philippines] is solar,” Pangilinan said.
Part of Meralco’s directive is to sees the need to tap different types of energy sources.
“Part of our mandate is to source the least cost and we take that very seriously. On the other hand, we must also diversify the sources because if we are dependent on just a single source, then that’s not good,” he added.
Solar Philippines’ bid comes in the wake of Meralco’s declaration of a failure of bidding in a competitive selection process (CSP), in which no proposal of First NatGas Power Corp.
Compared to Meralco’s average generation rate in the past three months of P4.74 per kWh, a rate of P2.99 per kWh would enable consumers to save around “30 percent” or an estimated P75 billion per annum, Solar Philippines earlier said.
Savings would be even bigger when compared to the rate paid by Meralco for electricity coming from natural gas plants, such as the 500-MW Sta. Rita power plant of First Gas Power Corp., which supplies Meralco at an average rate of P5.44 per kWh, inclusive of VAT.
“Meralco can save an average of 30 percent thanks to advances in solar and battery storage. But this goes beyond any single company or technology: WESM prices are at an all- time low, and new plants from companies like Aboitiz and San Miguel now offer consumers very low rates. Re- bidding this requirement in line with DOE’s [ Department of Energy] technology- neutral policy will encourage competition and ensure consumers can enjoy significant savings,” Solar Philippines President Leandro Leviste previously said.
The solar power provider recently Solar-Battery Micro-Grid in Paluan, Occidental Mindoro, to provide 24/7 reliable power for an entire town at a lower cost than gas.
The facility features batteries from Tesla, a leading electric vehicle manufacturer, and panels from the Solar Philippines Factory. It aims to demonstrate the viability of solar and storage to offer Filipinos lower - ost power than carbon dioxideemitting natural gas.