By | Nov. 25, 2013 at 12:04am
Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., the agency in charge of privatizing power assets, is studying the impact of the damage wreaked by super typhoon Yolanda on two assets recently sold to the private sector.
Typhoon Yolanda damaged the cooling towers of the 640-megawatt Unified Leyte geothermal power plants while rampaging waters swept the 32-MW Power Barge 103 aground in Iloilo, resulting in an oil spill.
PSALM sold both power plants in early November, shortly before typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines on Nov. 8. PSALM already gave a notice of award to the highest bidders of the power assets.
“We are studying the impact of the UL [Unified Leyte] and PB [Power Barge] matters. We have insurance for PB 103. We are still studying the impact of what happened on privatization,” PSALM president Emmanuel Ledesma told reporters.
Unified Leyte Geothermal Energy Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Development Corp., last week said it could not accept the government award as the highest bidder for the Unified Leyte geothermal power contracts under the same conditions when it was privatized.
EDC said the cooling towers of the Malitbog (232 MW), Tongonan (112.5 MW) and Mahanagdong (180 MW) power plants were “inoperable” due to significant damage.
The company said that part of the cooling system of Upper Mahiao (130 MW) was also damaged. Cooling towers prevent turbines from overheating.
The control systems of Tongonan, Mahanagdong and Upper Mahiao also sustained water damage.
EDC said in an earlier disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the physical and economic conditions contained in the bidding process “have been dramatically altered by the severe and widespread destruction caused by super typhoon Yolanda in the Eastern and Western Visayas regions.”
PSALM, meanwhile, awarded the sale of Power Barges 101, 102 and 103 to SPC Power Corp. Only PB 103 was affected by typhoon Yolanda.
“PSALM has already issued the notice of award to SPC, consistent with the bidding procedures for the sale of the PBs,” Ledesma said. source
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