PSALM to bid out Naga power complex operation contract

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. is seeking offers for the operation and maintenance of the 146-megawatt Naga power complex in Cebu, while it awaits the decision of the Joint Congressional Power Commission on whether the contracted capacity of the plant will be privatized.

In a statement, PSALM president and CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. said the agency would bid out a one-year P349-million operation and maintenance service contract (OMSC) on June 21. A pre-bid conference will be held on June 8 for interested companies.

To qualify, prospective bidders must have completed a contract similar to the Naga OMSC within five years from the date of submission and receipt of bids. Prospective bidders are also required to pay a non-refundable fee of P75,000 for the bidding documents.

The first attempt to bid out the Naga complex OMSC on February 27 failed as no single bid was submitted during the auction.

Pending the conduct of the re-bidding for a one-year OMSC, PSALM entered into a six-month contract with SPC Power Corp. to ensure the continued operation of the Visayas-based complex. This contract will expire on September 25 this year.

State-run National Power Corp. and SPC Power had a rehabilitate-operate-maintain-manage (ROMM) agreement for the complex but this contract expired on March 25 this year, prompting PSALM to look for another operator to ensure the continuous operation of the facility.

The Naga complex is composed of three thermal power plants that use a combination of diesel, bunker oil and coal as fuel. These are the coal-fired 50-MW Cebu thermal power plant 1 and 56.8-MW Cebu thermal power plant 2, and the 39-MW Cebu diesel power plant 1.