NEW POWER SOURCES. Photo shows the distribution tower of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). The NGCP has prepared for a public bidding process for ancillary services while pushing for new energy sources to achieve energy security. (Photo courtesy of NGCP)
CEBU CITY – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is set to implement the public bidding process for ancillary services (AS) as it pushes for new energy sources to achieve energy security.
In a statement on Wednesday, NGCP said it will start a competitive bidding for the required AS to help meet the objectives of the government and secure the best value for power consumers.
It said the ancillary services are support services needed to maintain power quality, reliability, and security of the grid.
NGCP president and chief executive officer Anthony Almeda said the state-owned power grid franchise holder “wants to guarantee the best pricing for AS, especially since this is a pass-on cost to consumers.”
“With an open and public bidding process, we ensure full transparency and comply with internal governance imperative of accountability, which all our stakeholders deserve,” Almeda said.
NGCP, however, said procuring AS on either firm or non-firm basis is not a solution to the recurring brownouts in the country.
Almeda said NGCP has a “supply and not a distribution problem.”
“For the grid to effectively address imbalances between supply and demand, we need to increase the power capacity of the country to meet rising demand as we start to recover and fully reopen the economy,” he added.
The statement said “very little progress” has been made in developing new energy sources as existing power facilities age and outputs decline.
The annual power consumption in the Philippines is expected to grow by 14.09 percent from pre-coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) levels in 2019 to 2021 when economic activity is expected to catch up and normalize.
NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders and vice chairman of the board Henry Sy Jr. and co-vice chairman Robert Coyiuto, Jr. (PNA)
