Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday called for a halt of Manila Electric Company (Meralco)’s Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for 600 megawatts of baseload supply starting next year, citing concerns over fairness.
Cayetano made the call following discussions with Meralco’s representative Atty. Jose Ronald Valles during the Senate Committee on Energy hearing on July 18, 2024 in which he discovered that older plants, including the Malampaya gas field, were disqualified due to arbitrary terms set by Meralco when it comes to the age of the plant.
“It doesn’t take an expert to see na parang may pinili na ang Meralco just by the terms of reference (that prevent First Gen plants from bidding). Parang ayaw ng Meralco sa Malampaya, hindi ba?” he said, referring to the Lopez family-led renewable energy firm established in December 1998.
Cayetano said even the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) “had some questions about this.”
Cayetano argued that the unfair CSP and treatment would discourage foreign investors from participating in energy exploration and drilling in the country.
“Paano tayo makakahikayat ng foreign investors para mag-drill at mag-explore ng energy kung hindi natin tatangkilikin ang Malampaya, kung ibo-box out natin ito sa lahat ng bidding?” he said.
Cayetano also scored Meralco’s redefinition of ‘greenfield,’ which he believed limited participation in the bidding process.
“Ang problema ay may sarili kayong definition ng ‘greenfield.’ Kaya lumalabas, pinipili niyo na kung sino ang mananalo sa bidding,” the senator told Atty. Valles during the hearing.
In the hearing, the ERC clarified that the industry’s definition of ‘greenfield’ refers to projects that are “not yet existing, constructed, and financed.”
Meralco, meanwhile, defined it as plants that are “operational as of January 2020.”
Given these concerns, Cayetano proposed to the DOE and ERC to suspend the August 2, 2024 deadline for the actual bid submissions to allow for further clarification of CSP rules and pending issues.
“I think the DOE and ERC should seriously consider stopping. It wouldn’t cause too much delay clarifying all these rules and pending cases,” he urged the panel members.
