Here’s what it comes down to: Meralco is either going to be exposed to WESM costs or to Masinloc costs.
Meralco can easily lessen it’s exposure to WESM by entering into additional off-take agreements with Masinloc and other PSALM plants.
The issue is: at what cost is it prudent for them to do so. At what point is a [possibly high-priced?] long-term contract of assured prices better than exposure to an uncertain spot market (in price & availability)?
Why should Meralco ratepayers support fat returns of an IPP owner or a fat privatization check to be divvied up by government bureaucrats? Why should the government continue to backstop Meralco’s obligation to provide assured capacity for it’s customers?
What we have is a game of chicken. Yeah, the one where there are two cars barreling down the road toward each other at an increasing speed (the year 2009, 2010, 2011, take your pick) with the intent of seeing which one swerves out of the way first.