Napocor awards Catanduanes genset contract to Monark Equipment

The Manila Times
July 13, 2014 8:50 pm
by RITCHIE A. HORARIO, REPORTER

To ensure power supply in Catanduanes province, the state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) has chosen Monark Equipment as a new contractor for its generating sets, replacing Cost Plus.
Danilo Sedilla, Napocor-Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) vice president, said the contract requires Monark Equipment to provide new rental generating sets with an aggregate capacity of 2.8 megawatts (MW).
No specific amount for the deal was given.
Monark will replace Cost Plus gensets, whose occasional breakdowns have been blamed for the province’s power woes.
Napocor said power supply in Catanduanes has already returned to normal after the Catanduanes Power Generation Inc. (CPGI) fully restored its operations.
CPGI is the lessee-operator of the 3.6-megawatt (MW) generator sets of First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative (Ficelco).
The sudden maintenance shutdown of CPGI, the occasional breakdown of Cost Plus’ genset, and insufficient water to operate the hydropower plants of Sunwest Water and Electric Co. Inc. were seen causing the power shortage in the province.
Samuel Laynes, Ficelco general manager, earlier asked Malacañang’s help to address the 20-hour daily power interruptions plaguing the province.
Laynes said consumers and businesses in the province suffered power outages during the last two months because of Napocor’s failure to secure the utility’s supply.
But Urbano Mendiola, Napocor vice president for corporate affairs, has turned the tables on Ficelco, saying the power deficiency in Catanduanes was brought about by the failure of Ficelco to comply with the Phase In-Phase Out (PIPO) Agreement both parties signed in 2008.
The agreement provides that Power One Corp. adds capacity, both base load and ancillary services, such as peaking and standby generating units.
By 2009, Power One, Ficelco’s power supplier, should have assumed the burden of supplying 100 percent of Catanduanes’ requirements.
However, Ficelco and Power One agreed to no longer implement the installation of additional capacities without the concurrence of Napocor.
Catanduanes is one of the 14 first-wave areas to privatize their source of power by virtue of Department of Energy Circular 2004-01-001.
The DOE circular prescribes the rules for private sector participation in areas where Napocor’s Small Power Utilities Group operates. source