Published
May 30, 2019, 10:00 PM By
Madelaine B. Miraflor
Giant distribution
utility Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has formally transitioned to a new
leadership, with its new chief saying his company should not be “demonized” for
pushing its multi-billion coal-fired power projects.
In an interview after
the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Tuesday, Meralco President and
Chief Executive Ray Espinosa justified Meralco’s plan to push for its
coal-fired power projects like the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Atimonan project in
Quezon Province.
“We should not demonize
Meralco basically because of the way our supply is sourced. The government
didn’t come up with a law or regulation that prohibits absolutely coal,”
Espinosa said.
“I don’t think we can
say days of coal are numbered until we basically hear from the government as to
what is the policy. We are also constrained to look at coal as a source of
supply mainly because DUs [distribution utilities] have statutory obligation to
secure supply that has the least cost. Coal has the least cost so we are obligated
by law to source from coal,” he added.
Espinosa said that
despite the recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling that would require Meralco to
start from scratch when it comes to securing power deals for its Atimonan
project, the company would still attempt to pursue the US$3-billion coal
project through it power generation arm Meralco Powergen Corp.
To recall, SC ruled
that “all deals or PSAs [power supply agreements] submitted by distribution
utilities or the power companies to the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] on
or after June 30, 2015, must undergo a competitive selection process.”
This means that all DUs
like Meralco should enter into a competitive selection process (CSP) before
awarding its PSAs to generation companies.
“[The recent SC
decision] could delay the construction of a much needed power plant, [but] we
will respect the decision of the SC and we will heed the direction as well as
we will follow the competitive selection process and we would build as quickly
as we can in coordination with and the approval of the DOE,” Espinosa said.
Meanwhile, Espinosa
said Meralco is in discussion with “less than a dozen” renewable energy (RE)
proponents as part of its efforts to somehow reduce its dependence on coal.
“We are in discussions
with some solar and wind proponents. We are not moving away from the goal of
reducing our carbon footprint. We have a responsibility as corporate citizen
too,” Espinosa said.
It was just late in
January when it was announced that Espinosa will takeover Meralco, replacing
its long time chief executive, Oscar Reyes.
During Meralco’s annual
stockholders meeting held on Tuesday, Espinosa officially took the helm at the
country’s largest distribution utility.
Espinosa said the biggest challenge he thinks he would face would be the regulatory environment in the energy sector.
Espinosa said the biggest challenge he thinks he would face would be the regulatory environment in the energy sector.
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