As the Taguig regional trial court (RTC) has junked the bid for injunctive relief of the Malampaya consortium members, power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) indicated that it is already planning to reschedule the competitive selection process (CSP) or bidding for the procurement of an additional 1,000 megawatts for its power supply requirements.

In a ruling penned by Taguig RTC Judge Antonio M. Olivete that was issued last August 17, it was expressly stipulated that “the complaint for injunction of plaintiffs is dismissed.”

Named as plaintiffs in the case of have been Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., which is the operator of the Malampaya field, along with its consortium-partners UC338 LLC of the Udenna Group; as well as Prime Oil and Gas Inc. and state-run Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation.

The RTC decision similarly specified that the temporary restraining order (TRO) of the court issued on August 2, 2024 on the case, had already been “rendered without force and effect.”

Relative to the latest development, Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Management Jose Ronald V. Valles stated that the utility firm will be issuing notice on the rescheduling of CSP for the targeted new round of capacity procurements to be underwritten with corresponding power supply agreements.

“We will proceed with the bidding for the 600MW and 400MW considering the dismissal of the complaint for injunction filed by Prime Energy. We cannot afford any further delay as that will certainly expose our customers to higher cost,” he stressed.

Valles qualified there are no definitive dates yet on the scheduled CSPs, but he hinted that a ‘notice’ will be released this Monday (August 19) to the prospective bidders.

The original schedule of auction for the 600MW capacity purchase should have been August 2; while the other 400MW procurement had been slated for August 9. But since those dates already lapsed, Meralco will have to set new dates for auction.

Meralco Vice President Lawrence S. Fernanez, who is also the head of the bids and awards committee of the power firm’s CSP processes for PSAs, conveyed that rescheduling of the auctions will be “for discussion with the lawyers on the next steps.”

The utility firm previously noted that the CSPs were scheduled to be carried out in accordance with the existing rules laid down by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission.