SMC, SunAsia to challenge 850MW Razon-Leviste solar bid

By MYRNA M. VELASCO

A subsidiary of top-tier power producer SMC Global Power Holdings Corp of the San Miguel Group and a consortium led by SunAsia Energy will challenge the unsolicited proposal lodged by the joint venture of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings which casts the development of 850-megawatt solar farm project to be underwritten with power supply agreement (PSA) by distribution utility giant Manila Electric Company.

Prime Infrastructure Capital is a corporate entity led by billionaire Enrique Razon; while Solar Philippines is a company of young businessman Leandro Leviste.

According to Meralco First Vice President Atty Jose Ronald V. Valles, SMC Global Light and SunAsia Energy signified their interests separately to join the tendering process for the proposed 850-megawatt solar facility that will help meet the utility firm’s need for mid-merit power capacity.

“TPBAC (third party bids and awards committee) received EOIs (expressions of interest) from SMC Global Light and Power Corporation and SunAsia Energy Inc. Both challengers are building 2,500MW solar and 4,000-megawatt hour battery energy storage,” Valles said in a media briefing.

The proposed rate of Terra Solar had been pegged at P5.70 per kilowatt hour at 50-percent plant capacity factor (PCF), excluding line rental and ancillary services cost recovery.

In a statement to the media, SunAsia Energy indicated that it “assembled a consortium of solar developers who will challenge a giant original proponent in a bid to supply the 850MW mid-merit requirement of Metro Manila.”

SunAsia Energy President Tetchi Capellan noted “for the first time, a community of solar developers and independent power producers broke free from their traditional mindset and decided to pool their resources and share talents to offer the largest utility company a green solution for 2026.”

Meralco formally opened the auction process to developers who will challenge the unsolicited proposal of the Razon-Leviste tandem. As approved by the Department of Energy (DOE), the bid submission and opening of pre-qualification documents will be on March 14 this year.

On their end, Capellan highlighted that “this challenge proposed by Meralco, with DOE approval, is a very intimidating bid process. It is the biggest deal in the region.”

She narrated that “when we were reviewing the published bidding rules, we were told by our colleagues that only a fool will dare contest a giant company with deep pocket and wide network.”

Capellan, nevertheless, stated “what urged us to challenge Terra Solar was not so much our common desire to acquire a power purchase agreement of this magnitude. The driving force behind our collaboration was our collective commitment to dismantle the old notion of how power supply is acquired.”

Taking cue from that changing investment landscape then, she stressed that “we cannot afford not to submit a counter offer in this tender as it will shape future competitive selection process.”

She underscored that as the era of renewables flourished, what used to be a centralized system of supplying power “is fading and a new path is emerging with the advent of renewable energy.”

The SunAsia Energy executive added that for solar power, this “can be produced anywhere especially in a tropical country like the Philippines. The idea is to harvest solar energy in multiple sites. This solution proves more efficient as it increases the resiliency of the grid.”

Capellan asserted confidence that “Meralco will recognize the potential of distributed power in avoiding system losses and consider this radical approach to power procurement.”

She pointed out “the combined expertise of multiple developers can match the proposal of a giant company,” with her noting that the success of the process would be anchored greatly on how the competitive selection process (CSP) will pan out in the slated tendering exercise.