Five groups keen on sale of Naga power facility in Cebu

Business World Onine

Posted on June 03, 2013 09:14:41 PM

FIVE GROUPS have expressed interest to participate in the privatization of the Naga Power Plant Complex (NPPC) in Cebu, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said in a statement yesterday.

NAGA Power Plant -- COMPLIANCE.ADB.ORG

"With the lapse of the deadline for the submission of the initial requirements, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. reported a total of five investor groups eyeing the Naga Power Plant Complex," the statement read.

To participate in the privatization of the 153.1-megawatt (MW) facility, PSALM required interested parties to submit a letter of intent and pay a non-refundable participation fee of ₱120,000 not later than May 27.

Interested groups were also required to execute a Confidentiality Agreement and Undertaking on or before May 29.

PSALM said that "all five groups have satisfied these initial requirements prior to their respective deadlines."

"We welcome the five local investor groups who submitted the initial requirements for the NPPC bid, which is the first power asset that PSALM has lined up for privatization this year," the statement quoted PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr. as saying.

PSALM will hold a pre-bid conference on June 5 "to discuss the bidding procedures and other issues and concerns that the prospective bidders may have regarding the NPPC sale."

The bidding for the privatization of the power facility has been scheduled on July 24.

"To our prospective bidders, thank you for your participation in and support for our asset privatization program, and we wish you the best of luck in this bid," Mr. Ledesma said.

Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

PSALM is mandated under Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, to handle the sale of the remaining power assets and financial obligations of the National Power Corp.

The Naga power facility is currently being run by SPC Power Corp. under an extended operation and maintenance service contract on March 26 and to expire on Sept. 25 this year

PSALM initially gave SPC a three-month contract extension until Dec. 25, which was extended anew until March 25.

The NPPC hosts two thermal power plants and one diesel power plant that use a combination of coal, bunker C oil, and diesel as fuel.

These are the coal-fired Cebu thermal power plants 1 and 2, with installed capacities of 52.5 MW and 56.8 MW, respectively; and 43.8 MW Cebu diesel power plant, consisting of six 7.3-MW diesel-fed power units. -- CAMCF   source