Napocor bids out fuel requirements

Manila Times.net
Published : Tuesday, January 10, 2012 00:00 Written by : EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER


STATE-OWNED National Power Corp. (Napocor) has bid out the fuel requirements of power plants located in far-flung areas not connected to the main grid.


Based on bid documents, Napocor’s off-grid power plants would need 116,301 kiloliters of diesel worth P5.5 billion and 22,101 kiloliters of fuel oil worth P816.6 million for 2012.


The contract to supply and deliver the fuel requirement worth a total of P6.3 billion was bid out by Napocor last Dec. 29, 2011.


Napocor’s off-grid power plants are operated by unit Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG).


The latter operates 304 generating units with a total generated capacity of about 129 megawatts in areas that mostly have limited markets.


To help pay for SPUG’s operations, fuel supply and capital projects in these areas, Napocor has had to rely on subsidies sourced from the universal charge for missionary electrification (UCME) component of consumers’ power bills.


Napocor was previously barred by the government from incurring additional debt as the company’s major power plants are being privatized to pay off its obligations worth $16.5 billion.


To help ease the financial strain on the company, Froilan Tampinco, Napocor president, said that they plan to privatize some of SPUG’s service areas.


“Out of the 14, actually our concentration is on 12 areas only. Two areas are relatively successful and that’s Bantayan and Masbate. So we will offer the remaining 12, and our first thrust will be Mindoro and Palawan,” he said.


There were 14 SPUG areas previously offered for private sector participation, namely, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Mainland Palawan, Catanduanes, Bantayan, Masbate, Tablas, Romblon, Camotes, Siquijor, Tawi-Tawi, Basila and Sulu.