Nine companies may join the state auction for the deal to manage the power output of the so-called Mount Apo geothermal power plants in North Cotabato province, state firm Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said.
The government is seeking a suitable independent power producer administrator (IPPA) for the Mindanao I and II (Mt. Apo 1 and 2) Geothermal Power Plants via bidding on September 24, 2014.
Ten investor groups initially submitted letters of interest but only nine firms complied with initial requirements early this month and attended the pre-bid conference on June 26.
The nine were EDC Mindanao Geothermal Inc., FDC Misamis Power Corp., GDF Suez Energy Philippines, Inc., Good Friends Hydro Resources Corp., SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.; SPC Power Corp., Therma Southern Mindanao, Inc., Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., and Vivant Geo Power Corp.
Elmer Nonnatus A. Cadano, officer-in-charge of PSALM’s privatization, bids and awards committee, said the pre-bid conference was held to acquaint attendees with bidding procedures.
“We want them to be fully prepared before they tender their bids on or before the bid submission deadline,” he said.
As IPPA, the winning bidder will manage government’s contracted energies in the Mt. Apo 1 and 2 plants, which are 390 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and 398 GWh per year, respectively.
The bidding exercise in September, if succesful, will be PSALM’s first completed IPPA auction in the Mindanao region.
The Mt. Apo 1 and Mt. Apo 2 geothermal power plants have a rated capacity of 54.24 megawatts (MW) each, and are located in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato.
Owned and operated by the Energy Development Corp., the power plants were commissioned on 15 February 1997 (Mt. Apo 1) and 17 June 1999 (Mt. Apo 2) under a build, operate and own contract scheme.
The cooperation period for both plants is 25 years, and the same will expire on 15 February 2022 and 17 June 2024 for Mt. Apo 1 and 2, respectively.
Besides generating cash for the settlement of the National Power Corp.’s debts, PSALM said it sees the sale of the energy contracts to encourage diversification in the energy market.
PSALM, formed under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Republic Act 9136), is mandated to privatize assets of debt-ridden Napocor and pay off its debts.