Failed bidding declared for Meralco supply deal

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) on Monday failed to secure bids for a 260-megawatt (MW) interim power supply agreement aimed at meeting an expected surge in demand during the summer.

"...I understand that today was the date of submission of the bid, but the two bidders have withdrawn their expressions of interests and therefore resulted in failed bidding," Meralco First Vice President Jose Ronald Valles told reporters during a briefing on the company's 2023 financial results.

«We will report to the DoE (Department of Energy) and request a second round of bidding,» he added.

The companies were identified as 1590 Energy Corp., a unit of Vivant Corp., and San Roque Hydropower Inc., a unit of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Inc.

Representatives of both firms as well as the Energy department were not immediately available for comment.

Bidding for another 400 MW of supply, meanwhile, is scheduled to be held today.

Based on earlier reports, the 260-MW supply deal would be effective until July this year while that for the 400 MW will run until February next year.

Last week, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla claimed that the country's energy supplies remained sufficient for the upcoming summer season.

"[W]e are actually much better off now to cope with the El Niño than before. But nevertheless, we continue to monitor for possible developments," he told reporters.

Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara, meanwhile, said that «based on the power outlook presented to us, so far we are not seeing yellow alerts or red alerts.»

«However, we are still encouraging everyone to conserve electricity… if they go beyond the forecast [consumption], of course, we will have problems. That's why we are saying, let us maintain our conservation of energy such that we will not have losses,» Guevara said.

"[If El Niño becomes a problem], the only possible thing that might happen is that you might have to run the more expensive plants, but that might increase rates. But then that is better than having no electricity at all."

2023 results

In another development, Meralco reported that net income last year had risen by 34 percent to P38.02 billion, from P28.43 billion in 2022, following significant