FDC unit passes post-qualifying phase for Mt. Apo IPPA

Business World Online
Posted on November 11, 2014 09:52:00 PM

A UNIT of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) is set to formally take over the contracted capacities of the Mt. Apo geothermal power plants by next month, an official said yesterday.

“The notice of award for Mt. Apo plants was already issued to FDC Misamis [Power Corp.],” said Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

Mr. Ledesma said the notice was issued following the completion of a post-qualification evaluation of the documents submitted by FDC Misamis.

“The effectivity of Mt. Apo IPPA (independent power producer administrator) contract will be on Dec. 26,” he noted.

FDC Misamis emerged as the highest bidder with its P128-million offer during the auction for the IPPA contract in September.

The power firm is a subsidiary of FDC Utilities, Inc., which in turn is the utilities arm of the listed conglomerate FDC of the Gotianun family.

The top bidder bested its only competitor, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., which submitted a P50-million bid.

While both companies passed the technical and financial requirements, Mr. Ledesma said only FDC Misamis met the reserve price set by PSALM Board.

The winning bidder will be in charge of selling the capacity generated by the Mt. Apo power plants under two separate IPP contracts.

Each of the power plants has a capacity of 54.24 megawatts.

Located in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, the power plants were commissioned on Feb. 15, 1997 and June 17, 1999 under a build-operate-and-own contract with Energy Development Corp.

The cooperation period for both plants is 25 years and will expire on Feb. 15, 2022 and June 17, 2024, respectively.

While the privatization earlier attracted the interest of nine firms -- seven of which were prequalified to bid -- five firms decided not to participate in the auction.

These companies were: EDC Mindanao Geothermal, Inc.; GDF Suez Energy Philippines, Inc.;Therma Southern Mindanao, Inc.; Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp.; and Vivant Geo Power Corp.

PSALM was formed under Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to assume ownership of and manage all of National Power Corp.’s (Napocor) assets, liabilities, contracts with independent power producers and other disposable assets.

The firm is also in charge of privatizing and disposing of these assets to liquidate Napocor’s financial obligations. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano source