By Lenie Lectura - February 7, 2018
SOLAR Philippines Power Project
Holdings Inc. said it is prepared to expand its portfolio to accommodate the
power requirements of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). The company announced
this after submitting an offer to provide 24/7 power to the country’s largest
electricity distribution firm.
“Our company alone has 5,000
hectares that is being developed into solar farms with available
interconnection that can be delivered when Meralco needs it,” Solar Philippines
President Leandro Leviste said.
He explained that 1 hectare of land
can accommodate 1 megawatt (MW) of solar power generation capacity. At present,
Solar Philippines’s power portfolio has reached 300 MW. These are either in
operation or under construction.
“We have three projects for Meralco
and other contestable customers. These are in Tarlac, Tanauan and Maragondon,”
Leviste said adding the company is eyeing to expand its portfolio by 250 MW
more.
“We have an additional 250 MW beyond
the 300 MW that will start construction during the year,” he added. “All of
these projects are starting construction even without ERC [Energy Regulatory
Commission] approval.”
Leviste said they plan to “build all
these plants without contracts because they are economically viable based on
WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] prices.”
“Our contract prices are even lower
than WESM prices.”
Solar Philippines earlier challenged
the price offer of First NatGas Power Corp. to supply power to Meralco at P2.99
per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Leviste claims Meralco consumers
will save over 30 percent or an estimated P75 billion per annum if its offer is
chosen. This is compared to Meralco’s average generation rate in the past three
months of P4.74 per kWh.
He added that consumers may save
even more compared to gas plants.
Leviste cited as example the 500-MW
supply line in the past three months by First Gas Philippines Corp. to Meralco
at an average rate of P5.44 per kWh inclusive of value-added tax.
Solar Philippines’s offer came after
Meralco declared a failure of bidding in a competitive selection process (CSP),
in which no company qualified to challenge the proposal of First NatGas in
light of the CSP’s requirement that “the fuel for the generation of the Price
Challenger must be the same as the Original Power Supplier, which is natural
gas.”
Since it was a failed bid, Solar
Philippines said Meralco may now choose whether to rebid this under the same
terms, or amend the terms to allow other technologies to compete on the basis
of cost.
A decision could be reached by end
of this month.
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