January 17, 2018
STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and
Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has laid down its privatization plans for
this year, which includes the sale of its most expensive assets as well as the
rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric complex in Mindanao.
In a statement on Tuesday, PSALM
said it would seek its board’s “definitive policy” on the privatization of
Malaya thermal power plant and a coal-fired power plant in Mindanao.
It said the move was meant “to cut
on operational costs and to augment funds for paying-off its assumed
obligations that will significantly benefit the government and the electricity
end-users.”
“The sale of Malaya plant was
previously deferred because of the plan of the Department of Energy (DoE) to
convert it into a liquefied natural gas plant. PSALM has yet to receive final
word from the DoE on the natural gas policy which will be included in the
plant’s sale terms of reference,” it added.
For the Mindanao coal power plant,
PSALM said it might wait for “appropriate time” to offer the facility on the
sale block. The sale was deferred in 2015.
“Reprieved from power outages in
recent years, Mindanao, this time, is currently experiencing oversupply of
electricity following the entry of new power plants. Under this circumstance,
PSALM deems that the plant may not attract maximum investment,” it said.
PSALM was created under Republic Act
No. 9136, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the law that
restructured the Philippine power sector. It took over the ownership of all
existing government-owned power generation assets. Its principal purpose is to manage
the orderly sale and privatization of these assets.
In its statement, PSALM said it will
continue to manage, trade and sell the energy output of the unified Leyte
geothermal power plant, including the 40-megawatt (MW) “strip of energy” under
Phinma Energy Corp.’s administration, the agreement of which was mutually
terminated recently.
“PSALM may no longer subject the
plant to public bidding,” PSALM said, citing the expiring independent power
producer contract in 2021-2022.
The agency said it was keen to start
the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric power plants to extend
their service life by 30 more years and to increase their reliability and
availability.
“As the owner, PSALM must have laid
down by 2019 the feasibility, terms of reference including funding options and
overall groundwork for the project. As the operator, the National Power Corp.
will implement the project,” it said.
The company will also prioritize
this year the sale of 231 lots as part of its real estate asset privatization
program. It said based on its inventory and profiling, the properties are
composed of 6,160 lots with an aggregate area of about 10,000 hectares.
Lined up for public bidding this
month are eight lots covering 20,975 square meters of the Manila thermal power
plant and 92 lots around the Bauang diesel power plant.
“Interested bidders will have until
22 January 2018 to conduct due diligence for said properties while submission
of bids is set on 24 January 2018,” PSALM said.
It said the bidding — on an “as is,
where is” basis — is open to individuals and sole proprietorships, partnerships
or corporations duly registered and organized under the laws of the
Philippines, the company said.
They should at least be 60%
Filipino-owned, joint ventures or consortia, and can be government corporate
entities and local government units authorized by law to acquire, own, hold or
develop real properties in the Philippines.
“The sale of non-power assets will
augment PSALM’s funding sources,” the company said.
PSALM said in December 2017, it had
issued an “offer to sell” for its two-unit Puerto Azul Ocean Villas Condominium
in Cavite to members of the Puerto Azul Golf and Country Club. The offer is
valid for six months.
“If the units remain unsold after
the expiration of the prescribed period, PSALM will open the sale of the
property through public bidding,” it said. — Victor V. Saulon
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