The targeted mandatory pie for power supply agreements (PSA) anchored on gas-fed power generating facilities will just be confined to gas volumes that will be extracted from the Malampaya field, according to a ranking Department of Energy (DOE) official.

Energy Undersecretary Rowena L. Guevara hinted the policy to be firmed up on gas aggregation to underpin the competitive selection process (CSP) for gas-generated capacity will likely be issued within this month.

“We want to make sure off-take (capacity purchase) for the gas that will be coming from Malampaya, so we are studying what are the things we can do through the mechanisms available to us,” she explained.

The CSP or bidding of power capacities from gas plants had been temporarily deferred by the DOE until it can come up with a clearer policy that will govern the gas aggregation proposal of Prime Infra of the Razon group – given that its subsidiary firm Prime Energy currently serves as the operator of the Malampaya field.

One major entity which is lining up a CSP process for gas-fed capacity is power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco), but its auction process will only be carried out upon the release of the propounded gas aggregation framework by the DOE.

Meralco, in particular, will need to secure replacement capacity for the 1,200 megawatts of capacity that had been previously terminated by the San Miguel group due to delay in the approval of their PSA.

Guevara acknowledged that the DOE received array of condemnation on the initial draft of a Circular on gas aggregation that had been released for public consultations last month.

“In our public consultations for gas demand aggregation, there had been a lot of criticisms, so we need to address them. So if it’s difficult to address them, we might need to change it a little bit,” the energy official stressed.

Guevara added “we need to be sensitive also to our stakeholders – so what we would want to make mandatory will be the gas from Malampaya.”

In the gas aggregation scheme being proposed by Prime Infra, there will be a blend of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and indigenous extraction from the Malampaya field that it will be selling to power plant off-takers.

On these targeted business deals, however, the DOE is giving preference to mandated capacity off-take that will just cover gas volumes lifted from the Malampaya field.

She stated that while Malampaya’s existing capacity is currently at its depleting state, the total volume may eventually bounce back to the level of 3,200 megawatt-capacity if the Razon group can chance upon fresh commercial gas discovery.