Masinloc plant wins power supply deal for NL electric cooperatives
The off-take agreements for the supply of electricity to eight electric cooperatives in Northern Luzon had been successfully cornered by Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., a project operating subsidiary of American firm AES Corporation.
“MPPCL has been declared the lowest bidder to supply the baseload power requirements of eight electric cooperatives from the Region 1 Electric Cooperatives Association and the Cordillera Administrative Region Electric Cooperative Association,” the company has noted.
It added that the deal would be “helping ensure a steady supply of energy to provinces and local communities served by the 2 electric cooperative associations.”
According to AES Philippines vice president for commercial Chrys Herrera, their company’s price tender at
per kilowatt-hour “is the lowest for a new generation facility in the country.”
The Masinloc power plant has been designed for capacity expansion of up to 600 megawatts – which may be done in phases at 300MW each.
AES Philippines managing director Neeraj Bhat has enthused that “this win establishes our expansion project as the most competitive new capacity in the country.”
The EC-beneficiaries of the supply pact include those in Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao, Mountain Province in the Cordillera region; and the provinces of Ilocos Norte, La Union, Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan.
Herrera similarly emphasized that the competitive selection process undertaken by the electric cooperatives had been “well-structured and transparent.”
The off-take deal will require the supply of 106 megawatts to the electric cooperatives to be drawn from the capacity expansion of the 600-megawatt Masinloc coal-fired plant in Zambales.
As indicated, at least six proponents have been qualified in the tendering process – the entire duration of selection of which stretched from November 2014 to April 2015.
“MPPCL provided the lowest price on both a base price and long-term levelized price basis,” Herrera has stressed.