‘Start next PSA bid round now’

By Jovee Marie de la Cruz - November 11, 2019

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/11/11/start-next-psa-bid-round-now/

THE chairman of the House Committee on Energy has asked the Department of Energy (DOE), and power industry players and stakeholders to start the next round of biddings for additional power supply agreements (PSAs).

Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, chairman of the Committee on Energy, said he believes that with the increasing demand of power being projected for the coming years, the country urgently needs additional capacity to support what is billed as the government’s golden age of infrastructure.

Velasco made the statement following Meralco’s recently conducted Competitive Selection Process (CSP) last September, which successfully resulted in the award of PSAs.

Meralco, however, is in a tussle with the DOE over its terms of reference for certain CSP projects.

“The record number of Yellow and Red Alerts that plagued Luzon Grid consumers this year should not be allowed to recur in the coming years,” Velasco stressed.

“The recent CSP process are very price-competitive and lower than prevailing generation charges,” he added.

Citing Republic Act 11371, or the Murang Kuryente Act, signed in August 2019, Velasco said the House looks forward to the start of the next round of bidding for new baseload capacity, “which will definitely be a welcome development, as this is aligned with the Duterte administration’s goal of bringing down the cost of electricity and ensuring a steady and continued supply of power across the country.”

RA 11371 mandates the government and industry playets to make available a reliable, resilient and inexpensive energy supply to Filipino consumers.

Velasco, meanwhile, also called on other distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to expedite their own CSP, in strict compliance with the DOE’s CSP guidelines, to support the building of greenfield power facilities.

“We call on both public and private sector to boost such crucial government initiatives in finding ways to provide adequate power supply at lower costs to the end-users,” he added.