Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is keeping the door open for the Sta. Rita natural gas plant to participate in future supply auctions even as its long-term contract with the utility nears its conclusion.

Ronald Valles, Meralco senior vice president and head of regulatory management, said First Gas Power Corp. remains eligible to bid the 1,000-megawatt Batangas facility for the utility’s mid-merit supply requirements.

The 1,000-megawatt (MW) Sta. Rita gas plant in Batangas continues to supply a significant portion of the Luzon grid. Its interim contract was recently extended through next month to avert potential power shortages during the seasonal surge in demand.

Although Valles clarified that another contract extension for the gas facility is unlikely, the power generator is still welcome to participate in the next bidding, in case Meralco conducts a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for a mid-merit supply.

“If we were to implement a mid-merit supply sometime in the near future, then definitely First Gas will still be a contender. So they’re free to bid,” he said in an interview.

“The extension of Sta. Rita was not originally in the PSPP [Power Supply Procurement Plan],” he added.

According to Valles, the Sta. Rita contract is already considered terminated in its procurement plan submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE), and is already in search of a replacement power.

Under its latest power procurement plan, Meralco has selected a winner for the 1,800-MW bidding process to ensure a steady electricity supply for its customers in Luzon, as well as to partially replace the capacity from the aging Sta. Rita plant.

To recall, the Sta. Rita facility is one of the few projects included in the gas sale between Lopez group’s First Gen Corporation and Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc. Since the deal was recently closed, Prime Infra now has a majority stake over some of First Gen’s Batangas facilities, including the 500-MW San Lorenzo, the 450-MW San Gabriel, the 97-MW Avion, the 1,200 Santa Maria plants, as well as the interim offshore liquefied natural gas terminal.

Although majority of the Lopez group affirmed its decision to remove First Gen chief executive officer Federico “Piki” Lopez from his leadership position, Meralco’s openness to a new Sta. Rita power deal hinges on demand needs and government approval.

“This will be purely based on the power demand requirements. And of course, the guidance from the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] and the DOE [in terms of security],” he said. “Because their leadership will not dictate us to procure their supply. What dictates us is the demand of customers… Regardless of who is the leader, then we will negotiate with them so we can get the supply from them.”