Luzon, Visayas Power Coops Secure 15-Year Baseload Supply Deals

MANILA, Philippines — The Luzon and Visayas Electric Cooperatives Aggregation (LVECA), comprising 29 on-grid electric cooperatives, has sealed power agreements with six of the country’s top energy firms for a 15-year baseload supply, according to the National Electrification Administration (NEA). The generation companies involved are Sual Power Inc. and Malita Power Inc., both under San Miguel Global Power; Therma Luzon Inc. and Therma Visayas Inc. of Aboitiz Power. Additionally, Palm Concepcion Power Corp. and Lopez-led First Gen Group have been tapped. The pacts ensure the delivery of a maximum aggregated contract capacity of 445 megawatts (MW) for Luzon and 120.5 MW for the Visayas. The officials did not disclose when the delivery of the committed power supply would commence. The NEA Special Bids and Awards Committee executed the Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) following a successful joint competitive selection process, with assistance from a technical working group. "The scale of this undertaking cannot be measured by megawatts alone. Behind these numbers are millions of Filipino households, small businesses, health and social services that rely on us from sunrise to sunset," NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said in a statement on Thursday. "By securing this PSA, we mitigate the risk of service disruptions, giving our ECs a stable foundation to help address operational gaps and illuminate more households. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to energy security, quality service, and improved lives for the Filipino families we serve," Almeda added. Meanwhile, the Visayas has been experiencing power strain for months, prompting the Department of Energy to scrutinize power facilities with recurring outages to pinpoint the causes of repeated plant failures. The agency is prepared to issue show-cause orders and impose sanctions on erring power operators. In related developments, five major power plants are set to come online this month to help stabilize electricity supply in the Visayas and Mindanao. Source: Inquirer Business