EDC and MORE Power seek ERC approval for supply

Energy Development Corp. (EDC) and MORE Electric and Power Corp. have applied to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for approval of their 5-year power supply agreement (PSA).

Both companies submitted a joint application to the ERC. They are asking the agency to allow them to implement a PSA for the supply of 20 megawatts (MW) at a levelized cost of 6.1008 pesos per kilowatt hour.

The rate, they say, is 0.2533 pesos per kWh lower at MORE Power’s production rate compared to sources in the wholesale electricity spot market.

“Such a reduction will be available to MORE Power consumers if PA is provided properly and in a timely manner,” they said.

MORE Power previously received part of its claims from Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM). Part of the MORE Power contract with PSALM for 20 MW is to be delivered under PSA with EDC.

“In the absence of timely temporary authority, MORE Power’s dependent customers will be exposed to unstable WESM… The timely commencement of power supply from EDC to MORE Power will satisfy power supply requirements and protect end users from high generation. costs in WESM.

This is especially true as there is no increase in fuel cost in an EDC PSA. In addition, the electricity that will be supplied by EDC under the PSA is not subject to value added tax, as it must be obtained from renewable sources, in particular from the EDC geothermal power plant,” their statement says.

EDC operates 592 MW geothermal power plants in Ormoc City, Leyte and Kananga, Leyte.

The ERC is also aware that the Philippine National Grid Corporation’s Negros-Cebu submarine cable was damaged last June, they said. The NGCP has stated that said submarine cable will only be fully repaired in 2023.

“Without timely ERC intervention, electricity consumers in Negros and Panay would have suffered very high production rates due to high line rental fees in the postal market caused by network congestion due to damage to the submarine cable,” they said.

These reasons are cited by MORE Power and EDC in their announcement of immediate provisional authority to allow EDC to supply MORE Power’s electricity and therefore protect consumers in Iloilo City from WESM’s volatility and potentially high prices.