Meralco Wants New and Reliable Power Plants

Power company Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is calling for the speedy construction of new and reliable power plants to lessen generation deficiencies and high electricity spot market prices during tight supply conditions.

During a presentation in the House Committee on Energy, Meralco’s Vice President and Head of Utility Economics Department, Lawrence Fernandez said that “As a couple of recommendations to avoid generation deficiencies and the high WESM (wholesale electricity spot market) prices that they bring, it is strongly recommended to quickly build new, efficient, and reliable power plants, both to supply energy and for reserves,”

Meralco rates rose this month due to higher generation charges. This follows after two consecutive months of decrease with a total reduction of ₱0.9154 per kilowatt-hour.

Fernandez has mentioned that to lessen generation charges, customers should be given more options with regard to choosing their generation supplier which can be done through the implementation of the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) and Green Energy Option Program (GEOP).

RCOA allows consumers with an average peak demand of a maximum of 500 kilowatts (kW) to secure retail supply contracts from licensed retail suppliers (RES) or local RES.

According to Fernandez, a sum of 1,394 customers in the Meralco franchise area have joined the market.

On the other hand, customers that have an average demand of a minimum of 100 kW for the last 12 months can choose to join GEOP and contract with RES for a 100% renewable supply of energy.

Meralco mentions that transmission and distribution delays in projects should be avoided to support new power plants and sustain the power quality and reliability of the grid.

Source: Philstar