PSALM bidding out P2.4B worth of fuel supply deals Monday
MANILA, Philippines—State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is bidding out Monday P2.4 billion worth of contracts for the supply and delivery of oil-based fuel, which will be used for government-owned or -managed power plants.
To be auctioned Monday, according to PSALM data, are the same contracts that were offered to the private sector on May 10 in a bidding that was declared a failure.
The P2.4-billion contracts cover 55.2 million liters of industrial fuel oil, estimated to be worth P2.21 billion, and 4.26 million liters of industrial diesel oil worth P202.6 million. These will be used for the 630-megawatt Malaya thermal power plant in Rizal; 146-MW Naga power plant complex in Cebu; for power barges 101, 102, 103 and 104; Southern Philippines Power Corp.’s (SPPC) 55-MW bunker-C fired power station in Sarangani; and Western Mindanao Power Corp.’s (WMPC) 100-MW diesel-fired generating facility in Zamboanga City.
PSALM took over the management of these power plants and contracted capacities from state firm National Power Corp. in 2001. It was also tasked to privatize these assets.
However, the agency has yet to set the bidding schedule for these facilities, except for power barges 101, 102, 103 and 104, which were offered to the private sector in a bidding on May 16. The auction was, however, declared a failure because only one company, ACTA Power Corp., submitted an offer.
Other companies that earlier expressed interest to join the bidding but did not pursue their bid were concerned that Mindanao consumers might not support a generation rate that would make the operation of the barges viable, Inquirer sources said.
It should be noted that on top of the operational costs, the winning bidder is also required to shoulder the cost of transferring the barges and repair of their mooring sites, they said.
Bidders are likewise wary of the indeterminate costs imposed by local governments and were put off by the extent of repairs that the winning bidders had to undertake under the provisions of the sale contracts.
Certain bidders felt they needed more time to study the assets and the requirements to operate them, the sources added.
