MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) on Thursday identified eight bidders that had expressed interest in supplying 600 megawatts of baseload supply for its power requirements next year.

In a pre-bidding conference for an ongoing competitive selection process (CSP), Meralco said the eight firms were First Gas Power Corp., First NatGas Power Corp., GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co., Mariveles Power Generation Corp., Masinloc Power Co. Ltd., Quezon Power (Philippines) Ltd. Co., Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp., and Therma Luzon, Inc.

"As an open and transparent process, the recently concluded pre-bid conference was streamed live and was attended by consumer groups as observers," said Larry Fernandez, chairman of Meralco's bids and awards committee for power supply agreements.

"This CSP for Meralco's baseload requirement gained the interest of the country's major energy players, and reflects the private sector's continuing efforts to ensure sufficient and cost-competitive supply for consumers," he added.

"Next, we look forward to the bid submissions of these prospective bidders next month."

Four conglomerates are effectively vying for the Meralco contract: the Lopez group (First Gas Power and First NatGas Power), Aboitiz group (GNPower Dinginin and Therma Luzon); San Miguel Corp., through SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.'s business units Mariveles Power and Masinloc Power; and DMCI Holdings Inc., through Semirara Mining and Power Corp.'s business unit, Southwest Luzon Power.

Six of the eight bidders run fuel-fired power plants, while two firms run on natural gas.

Meralco said the CSP was for a 15-year supply deal targeted to start on Aug. 26, 2025. The nominated power plants must be technically capable of producing the entire 600 MW.

The bid submission deadline is Aug. 2, 2024.

Meralco shares on Thursday fell by P1.00, or 0.27 percent, to close at P376 each.