ERC approves higher rates for Meralco supply contracts with SMGP and ACEN

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) power supply agreements (PSAs) with San Miguel Global Power Corp. (SMGP) and ACEN Corp. at rates higher than the provisional P5.1908 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), securing 479 megawatts (MW) of renewable capacity but signaling higher costs for consumers.

- By Sheldeen Joy Talavera

“The final decision that we rendered, we based it on the applied rates and the rationale being that this was already the product of the competitive selection process,” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Francis Saturnino Juan said on the sidelines of an energy forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines on Thursday.

Under Mr. Juan’s leadership, the ERC approved the original rates under Meralco’s PSAs with SMGP’s San Roque Hydropower, Inc. (SRHI) and ACEN’s Gigasol 3, Inc,, covering a total supply of 479 MW.

SRHI and Gigasol 3 were among the winning bidders in Meralco’s competitive selection process last year for its 500-MW renewable energy supply requirement.