PSALM seeks suppliers of fuel worth P5.4B

MANILA, Philippines–The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. is seeking suppliers of fuel worth P5.4 billion, which will be used to run various power plants this year.

In a bid bulletin, PSALM said it would bid out a total of 235 million liters of industrial fuel for three power plants.

Three packages will be offered during the tender set on April 7.

One is a supply deal for 35 million liters, which will fuel the Malaya thermal power plant in Rizal province. Its approved budget is P854 million.

Another is the 72 million liters for the Southern Philippines Power Corp. (SPPC) in Zamboanga City, with a budget of P1.66 billion.

Also on offer is a deal for 128 million liters for Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) in Sarangani province. The budget set is P2.92 billion.

Suppliers can bid on any one or all three deals, PSALM president and CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. said in a text message.

With the lean supply of electricity this summer, Ledesma said, “the fuel purchases are essential for supply stability through the operation of these power plants throughout the year.”

He said PSALM would require prospective bidders to have some experience on the subject procurements within the last five years from the date of the submission and receipt of bids.

The invitation to bid states that the “allowable experience” is a similar contract that is equivalent to at least 25 percent of the approved budget, Ledesma said.

Interested parties must also pay a nonrefundable fee of P75,000 for the bidding documents for each of the three procurement projects, PSALM said.

The pre-bid conference is scheduled on March 17, 10 a.m. at PSALM’s Makati City office.

It will only be open to those who have purchased the bidding documents, PSALM said.

The deadline for the submission of bids, is on April 7 at 10 a.m. The opening of bids will start right after that. Late bids will not be accepted, PSALM said.

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management has the mandate to procure the fuel requirements of all government-owned power stations and those that are still to be privatized.

Among them are SPPC and WMPC.

Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. subsidiaries SPPC and WMPC respectively operate 55-megawatt (MW) and 100-MW power plants in Mindanao. Both are diesel-fired.

Each of the facilities has an 18-year agreement with PSALM—that of SPPC will lapse in May 2016 while WMPC’s will expire on December 2015.

Meanwhile, the 650-MW Malaya coal-fired power plant has a new operator.

SPC Power Corp. used to operate the facility under an operation and maintenance service contract (OMSC). But Korean firm STX Marine Service Co. Ltd. has taken over the state-owned plant.

In October 2014, PSALM awarded the operation and service contract to STX Marine, which offered the lowest bid for the one-year OMSC to run the dilapidated power plant. Later, STX also won the deal to overhaul the power plant’s 350-MW Unit 1.

PSALM, the agency tasked to manage the energy assets of state firm National Power Corp., said STX Marine’s offer of P302.15 million bested that of SPC Power Corp., which offered P428.78 million. For the overhaul of Malaya Unit 1, STX Marine won with the lowest bid of P81 million.