MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) on Wednesday declared a unit of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) as the "best bidder" for the supply of 1,200 megawatts (MW) in baseload power.

The offer submitted by SMC's South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC) was said to have besting two others.

Meralco said that SPPC offered a total levelized electricity cost of P7.0718 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the entire 1,200 MW.

Deemed next best was a joint venture of Limay Power Inc. and San Roque Hydropower Inc., which offered to supply 150 MW at P7.1006 per kWh.

First Natgas Power Corp. (FNPC) came in third with an offer to deliver 210 MW at P8.4489 per kWh.

Except for FNPC's bid, all other offers received were below the P7.1538 per kWh reserve price, Meralco said.

SPPC's offer remains subject to a post-qualification evaluation and approval by Meralco's board of directors

Bids committee chairman Lawrence Fernandez said the auction was conducted in an open and transparent manner, and proceedings were livestreamed, in compliance with Department of Energy and Energy Regulatory Commission regulations.

"All contracts resulting from this CSP (competitive selection process) will be subject to the regulatory proceedings of the ERC," he added.

Meralco said the resulting 15-year power supply agreement would be enough to cover future capacity requirements.

The company's government-approved power supply procurement plan encourages the participation of suppliers with natural gas-fired power plants and prioritizes those that use Indigenous natural gas.

Meralco shares slipped by 40 centavos to P383 each on Wednesday.