DOE ENSURES MERALCO'S CSP COMPLIANCE: DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi (far right) and met with Meralco President Ray C. Espinosa second from right) and Atty. William S. Pamintuan (SVP - Corporate Governance) along with other Meralco and DOE officials at the DOE Head Office on Thursday to discuss measures and the timeline of MERALCO's CSP.
TAGUIG CITY - Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi initiated coordination with Luzon’s largest electricity distributor, Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), for the timely conduct of their Competitive Selection Process, as mandated in a previous Supreme Court (SC) decision.
In a meeting with MERALCO officials on Thursday (13 June), the DOE and MERALCO agreed that the latter should expedite the conduct of their CSP to ensure continued power supply in Luzon.
This is after the release of the SC decision stating that “all Power Supply Agreement (PSA) applications submitted by Distribution Utilities (DUs) to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on or after 30 June 2015 shall comply with the CSP based on DOE’s 2018 Department Circular".
According to Secretary Cusi, the DOE and MERALCO are in full agreement that the conduct of CSP is certified as urgent given the need to ensure a reliable and steady supply of energy to everyone at all times.
“We are reiterating our initial statement on this matter that we must do it fast, and there must be no delays in the implementation of CSP for Meralco and for other distribution utilities and electric cooperatives. We must act fast because demand continues to grow and we want to be ready to supply the needs of a growing market to ensure that the country will maximize its growth potential,” the Energy Chief added.
Under the CSP, electric cooperatives and distribution utilities must conduct a bidding for the contract of its power supply to ensure transparency and fair competition.
“We want to ensure accountability from power providers that supply is available and that they are ready for any eventuality, which is their responsibility as a player in a commodities sector,” Sec. Cusi further emphasized.
MERALCO currently has 6.6 Million customers in 36 cities and 75 municipalities in Luzon and supplies about 66% of the region’s total demand (11,245 MW).
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