STX submits lower bid for Malaya plant

Manila Standard Today
By Alena Mae S. Flores | Aug. 04, 2015 at 11:35pm

Two companies submitted bids for the one-year operation and maintenance contract of the 650-megawatt Malaya thermal power plant in Pililla, Rizal, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. said Tuesday.

STX Marine Services Co. Ltd. of Korea submitted a lower bid, compared with the offer of SPC Malaya Power Corp., for the operation and maintenance service contract of the Malaya plant in Pililla, Rizal, sources said Tuesday.

“There are two bidders who submitted bids, STX and Salcon. This is still subject to post-qualification of bidders,” PSALM president Lourdes Alzona said.

Sources said among the two bidders, current operator STX submitted the lower bid. STX’s temporary contract is good only until Sept. 25.

The operations and maintenance contract of the Malaya thermal power plant has an approved budget of P457.27 million.

Alzona said any investigation on the allegations of concerned Malaya power plant employees would have to wait until the post-qualification was completed.

“Post-qualification will cover both the technical and financial. Need to wait for the BAC [bids and awards committee] report before the [PSALM board],” Alzona said.

Sources called for a more transparent post-qualification process. Malaya employees earlier asked PSALM board to look into the issue, claiming that the repair of Malaya unit 1 by STX was delayed.

“Up to now, Malaya unit 1 is not completely commissioned. The requirement is to reach 150 MW but up to now it is only producing 65 MW,” the source said.

The Malaya power plant is a 40-year-old plant, composed of two units with dependable capacity of 290 megawatts and 340 MW.

The employees said in a position paper they were not agreeable to the renewal or extension of STX Marine’s OMSC agreement with PSALM.

The employees said STX Marine’s experience was on marine transportation and it had no track record on managing a power plant as big as Malaya plant.

They said Korean personnel managing the power plant onsite were not well versed in the operation and maintenance of equipment and system of the model of the power plant.

Employees accused STX personnel of “sometimes overriding some standard operating procedure of manufacturers and pretending to know, causing the damage on the operation of equipment and system.”

The employees said the site management always disagreed on suggestions even though expenditures were very minimal.

“Besides this, the arrogant character of management is prevailing, causing local members to demoralize and sometimes do not suggest anymore to avoid conflict with Koreans. This culture, character and type of management showed to local is not acceptable and violates the principle of professionalism,” they said.

The employees also noted the delay in the Malaya turbine overhaul, which was also awarded to STX allegedly “due to inexperience decisions causing the longest history of Malaya 1 turbine overhaul since it was installed and operated in 1974. “

The government decided to put on hold the privatization of the Malaya facility and to utilize it instead as a “security asset” that could add additional capacity to the Luzon grid when needed while helping stabilize prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. source