National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the consortium that won the auction last year for the concession of the government’s electric grid company National Transmission Corp. (Transco), will take over the operation on Thursday.

Paving the way for the turnover is the remittance by group’s Philippine members — Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. and Calaca High Power Corp. — of $600 million to the privatization agency Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., which was made last Wednesday.

The foreign member of the group, State Grid Corporation of China, will remit its $400-million contribution for the down payment before the scheduled turnover date.

The official turnover was originally scheduled for Dec. 29 but some unfulfilled requirements, on both the government and National Grid sides, pushed the turnover date by more than two weeks.

In an earlier interview, Monte Oro chairman Walter Brown said the down payment for the concession should be completed way before the Jan. 19 deadline.

The first $987.5 million of the concession payment is to be covered by equity infusion and the remainder of the bid price is payable over 20 years.

The Asian Development Bank has committed a $250-million standby facility to National Grid.

Physical preparations for the turnover have been completed at the Transco head office in Quezon City, with the Transco Training Center converted into a central office for the government side of Transco’s operations, which will have a little more than 200 employees.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Dec. 1 signed into law the Transco Franchise Bill, giving National Grid the authority to operate, maintain and expand the country’s electricity superhighway.

The Transco Franchise took effect on Dec. 20, 2008, 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation. With editing by INQUIRER.net