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The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) declares Ahunan Power, Inc. (Ahunan) as the Original Proponent in relation to its offer to supply 500 megawatts (MW) of mid-merit power using pumped storage hydropower (PSH) as an energy storage system. Ahunan is a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. (Prime Infra).

Meralco, through its Third-Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC), granted the Original Proponent status on June 29, 2022. Ahunan’s offer is subject to competitive challenge under the rules of the Department of Energy, with Ahunan having the right to match any comparative proposals.

“We are pleased to continue putting forward innovative solutions to Meralco and consequently having been granted the Original Proponent status to Ahunan. We look forward to the opportunity of further providing renewable energy sources that are reliable and sustainable,” said Prime Infra Chairman Enrique K. Razon, Jr.

“This project is a testament to our goal of integrating ESG in the critical infrastructure assets that we deliver. Prime Infra will continue to pioneer energy and other infrastructure projects that are environmentally resilient and socially relevant,” said Guillaume Lucci, Prime Infra’s President and CEO.

To ensure the timely supply of power to Meralco, Ahunan nominated two PSH plants, either of which can supply the needed 500MW energy under its offer. The first is located in Laguna and is already undergoing pre-development by Ahunan. The second is a PSH plant in Wawa, Rizal under pre-development by Olympia Violago Water & Power, Inc. (OVWPI). Ahunan has entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in OVWPI.

Ahunan and OVWPI have a total hydro service contracts of 1,200MW and 500MW net dependable capacity respectively. This represents an additional 8% dependable installed capacity to the Philippine Grid. The development of PSH plants also represents a move away from the traditional oil or gas-based power for mid-merit and peaking. Lastly, the PS is an Energy Storage System, which allows greater penetration of renewable energy sources as it can both absorb and generate electricity to follow the variability of wind and solar plants.

PSH plants store and generate electricity by moving water between two reservoirs at different elevations. Water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir during off-peak hours to store underutilized energy, then released from the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir to generate electricity in times of high demand.

Ahunan’s PSH plants have a capability of a minimum guaranteed output of 12 hours per day covering the peak hours of Meralco.