FGen, EDC plants to supply power to Meralco

Published September 20, 2019, 10:00 PM By Myrna M.Velasco

https://business.mb.com.ph/2019/09/20/fgen-edc-plants-to-supply-power-to-meralco/

Four power plants of First Gen Corporation and its subsidiary Energy Development Corporation (EDC) will be supplying the 100-megawatt capacity that the Lopez group has committed in its power supply agreement (PSA) with the Manila Electric Company.

These plants are First Gen Hydro; and the three geothermal facilities of EDC in Nasulo and Tongonan and Leyte; and Bacon-Manito geothermal facility in Sorsogon (in the Bicol region).

The Lopez group’s offer in the recently concluded competitive selection process (CSP) of Meralco was the lowest in the league of generation companies that will be supplying the 500-MW mid-merit capacity fraction of Meralco’s supply.

The power supply deal with Meralco was signed September 16, 2019 and start of delivery to the utility firm’s load network will be on December 26 this year.

First Gen Hydro, the company that cornered the Meralco contract, is 60 percent owned by EDC while 40 percent of the equity is held by its parent firm First Gen Corporation.

When the bids were opened in the CSP process, it turned out that First Gen Hydro submitted the lowest cost-offer with all-in levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of P5.3989 per kilowatt hour.

EDC President and COO Richard B. Tantoco asserted that “winning this contract is a clear indication that clean, renewable energy – especially one that is baseload or available 24/7 like geothermal, can be priced lower versus carbon-intensive, non-renewable energy sources.”

He enthused, “This gives power consumers a more compelling reason to decarbonize our economy by transitioning to renewable energy.”

The CSP on the mid-merit capacity procurement of Meralco was tendered on strips of 100MW – meaning, that is the minimum capacity that a bidder can offer in the auction.

Mid-merit generating facilities would normally fill the gap between the peaking and baseload plants – and this can be provided by plants that are technically equipped to provide this particular need of the power system.