ERC okays Meralco-Bacavalley Energy deal

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has permitted a waste-to-energy developer in San Pedro, Laguna to supply electricity to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). The commission said that allowing Bacavalley Energy Inc. to supply power to the largest power distributor will “redound to the benefit of Meralco’s consumers and the government." Meralco had eyed Bacavalley’s 4.2-megawatt methane plant in the southern part of Metro Manila to become one of its power generators for two years. Meralco will pay the owner and operator of the methane plant at a rate similar to what it gives to the National Power Corp. The use of the Laguna plant will have a “beneficial" impact to Meralco customers, such as reduction of transmission charges, easing of system loss, and minimizing environmental problems. Bacavalley owns and operates the plant, which is powered by methane extracted from the landfill in San Pedro, Laguna. The methane plant in San Pedro was modeled from the Montalban methane power project, the first methane power plant in the country. The San Pedro plant costs P798 million, with an estimated economic life of 10 years. According to Bacavalley, the Development Bank of the Philipines provided 70 percent of the fund while the rest was sourced from the company’s capital. — JE, GMA News