Aboitiz wants Naga plant turnover halted

The Aboitiz Group has asked government to halt the turnover of the 153.1-megawatt (MW) Naga power plant in Cebu province to SPC Power Corp. on Aug. 18.

In a letter to state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), Therma Power Visayas Inc. (TPVI)—a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp.—urged PSALM to recall the notice of award and certificate of effectivity it sent SPC Power until the Supreme Court issues its decision on the case filed by Sen. Sergio Osmeña.

“We frankly are amazed and deeply disappointed by the manner and haste in which the PSALM board of directors decided to award the contracts for the privatization of the Naga power plant complex to SPC Corp. despite the myriad of contentious issues that remain unanswered and also pending with the Supreme Court,” said Raymond Cunningham, AboitizPower’s executive director for business development, in the letter.

The facility has been the subject of legal debate centered on whether SPC had the right to top the winning bid of the Aboitiz Group based on SPC’s land lease deal with PSALM on an adjacent area hosting the gas turbine in the Naga power complex. The complex also hosts coal and diesel-fired power generating units.

In a petition for certiorari before the High Tribunal filed in June, Osmeña argued that the “right to top” should be held invalid as it defeats the purpose of a fair and transparent bidding for a government asset.

Noting that SPC itself did not submit a high bid during the March auction for the power plants, Osmeña’s petition said the “right to top” discourages competitive bidding as it gives SPC an edge over other bidders.

TPVI won in the third bidding round for the power plant with a bid of P1.088 billion, higher than SPC’s bid of P858,999,888.88. But SPC exercised its “right to top” the bid, offering PSALM P1.143 billion. The two previous auctions failed due to lack of participants. Riza T. Olchondra