THE ENERGY REGULATORY Commission (ERC) has denied the request for provisional authority by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and San Miguel Corp.’s Masinloc Power Co. Ltd. (MPCL) for their 500-megawatt (MW) power supply agreement (PSA).

Although the ERC found that Meralco’s bidding complied with the competitive selection process (CSP) policies, it determined that the urgency of the supply from MPCL has not been established.

“Considering that the expected delivery date of the instant PSA shall not occur until 26 August 2025, the urgency of supply from MPCL has not been established,” the regulator said.

The ERC said that it considers granting provisional authority to the applicants to be “premature.”

Following the CSP conducted in August, MPCL emerged as one of the bidders with a favorable offer, with the company offering 500 MW out of the required contract capacity of 600 MW, for P5.6015 per kilowatt-hour.

The government requires distribution utilities to choose the cheapest electricity supply through a CSP.

The 15-year PSA resulting from the CSP will cover the power distributor’s 600-MW baseload supply, effective on Aug. 26, 2025.

MPCL is a subsidiary of San Miguel Global Power, the power arm of SMC. It owns the 659-MW coal-fired thermal power plant in Zambales.

BusinessWorld reached out to Meralco for comment.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera