Friday, August 18, 2017

Solar Philippines challenges Citicore Power’s supply offer to Meralco



By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 18, 2017 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Solar Philippines has challenged the offer of Citicore Power Inc. to supply up to 85-megawatt (MW) of power to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
Solar Philippines said it was the lone challenger for the competitive selection process (CSP) to supply 85 MW of solar power to Meralco.
Meralco has given price challengers until Aug. 14 to submit their financial proposals with bid security in the form of an irrevocable letter of credit amounting to P5 million.
Solar Philippines president Leandro Leviste said they made an offer lower than the P3.50 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) proposed by Citicore but declined to give details since the process is still ongoing.
“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. 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,” he said.
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.
“Previously, we couldn’t fault the power industry for not believing in solar, because the local market had not yet demonstrated that solar could be cheaper and more reliable than coal. Now, we 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,” Leviste said.
Solar Philippines said vertical integration has enabled it to make solar cost-competitive. It has began manufacturing solar panels in Sto. Tomas, Batangas earlier this year with an initial capacity of 800 MW.
Earlier this month, the firm also announced it would soon begin exporting solar panels, under original equipment manufacturer contracts with suppliers from China for export to the US and Europe.
“We are in full support of President Duterte’s vision of our nation achieving first-world status in the coming years, and believe lower electricity prices and global leadership in solar and battery storage will cement the position of the Philippines as Asia’s next Tiger Economy,” Leviste said.
This is the second competitive bidding conducted by Meralco for solar supply contracts. Solar Philippines Tanauan Corp. and PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc. have offered 50 MW each at a price of P5.39 per kwh for 20 years, lower than the latest solar FIT rate of P8.69 per kwh.
Solar Philippines will supply 25 MW from its solar farms in Tanauan, Batangas and Naic, Cavite, which are targeted for completion in February and April 2017, respectively.

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