NGCP seeks bids from power firms

BY LENIE LECTURA – FEBRUARY 1, 2022
from Business Mirror

THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is soliciting bids from interested power firms to supply the grid operator firm power reserves via a competitive auction.

In a bid invite, the grid operator said it needs qualified ancillary service (AS) providers that can supply starting this year’s grid requirements for regulating reserves (RR), or 4 percent of the hourly system demand; contingency reserves (CR), the most heavily loaded generating unit on-line and its scheduled reserve; dispatchable reserves (DR), the second most heavily loaded generating unit on-line and its scheduled reserve; reactive power support; and black start service.

As system operator, the NGCP is responsible for determining, acquiring and dispatching the needed AS levels in order to maintain power quality and the reliability and security of the grid.

“The NGCP, through its Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC), is inviting all interested grid-connected merchant plants and Independent Power Producers [IPPs] to apply for eligibility and participate in the competitive bidding for the procurement of AS,” it said in the bid invite.

The power plants of interested bidders must be directly connected to an NGCP-owned facility with a dedicated connection while embedded generators must have expressed consent from host distribution utility that it can dispatch anytime when required for ancillary services provision.

The AS rates is set at a maximum of P2.25 per kilowatt (kW) per scheduled hour for RR, P1.50 per kW per scheduled hour for CR, P0.85 per kW per scheduled hour for DR, P4 per kilovolt-ampere reactive per hour, per occurrence for reactive power support, and incidental energy payment only per occurrence for black start service.

The NGCP has set on February 2 the deadline for the submission of expression of interest, followed by the conduct of a pre-bid conference on February 10.

The deadline for the submission of bids is on February 16 for Luzon, February 17 for Visayas, and February 18 for Mindanao. The bids will be opened on the same days.

NGCP is scheduled to award the contracts on March 1.

Should there be less than two expression of interest, the TPBAC shall declare a failed bid.