Monday, December 10, 2018

PSALM prequalifies 4 firms to bid for Malaya thermal plant



By Lenie Lectura - December 6, 2018

THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has pre-qualified four firms vying for the sale of the Malaya Thermal Power Plant, the land underlying the facility and all other assets associated with the plant’s structures.
PSALM President Irene Joy Garcia identified AC Energy Inc.,  DM Wenceslao & Associates Inc., DMCI Power Corp. and FGen Reliable Energy Holdings Inc. as “real serious bidders.”
“They submitted documents and when we checked their documents, they qualified. It was quite a surprise for us because while there were 11 bidders who signified intention, the others did not submit documents,” Garcia said.
The other interested bidders who earlier expressed interest but did not submit the necessary documents were Panasia Energy Inc., Quezon Power (Philippines) Ltd. Co., Crown Investment Holdings Inc., Energy World Power Operations Philippines Inc., Pan Pacific Renewable Power Philippines Corp., Phinma Energy Corp., Korean firm STX and SMC Global Holdings Corp.
The plant, which consists of a 300-megawatts unit with a once-through type boiler and a 350-MW unit fitted with a conventional boiler, is a must-run unit (MRU) that provides backup power in instances when supply is deficient or unavailable in the Luzon Grid.
The PSALM board recently allowed the privatization of the Malaya complex without the MRU requirement.
PSALM will tap a third-party evaluator to assess the power plant. The valuation would then be the basis setting the floor price.
However, PSALM has yet to conduct another bidding for the selection of the valuator.
“No one submitted because we were told by the interested companies we are giving the winning bidder a short time to do the valuation.  But the reason for that is for the privatization bidding for the Malaya plant to not be delayed,” the PSALM official said.
The PSALM board, she said, eventually agreed to revise the bidding schedule for the consultancy services in order to accommodate the requests of interested bidders. Consequently, the bidding for the Malaya privatization would have to be moved, as well from the original date which is December 14.
“So, I went back to the board. We wanted this timetable, but unfortunately, we could not proceed unless we get a third-party valuation that would become the basis of the board when they put a value on the amount. So, we had to bite the bullet and revise the calendar so that we will now release another round of request for participation for the consultancy this time to allot a much longer period,” Garcia said.
PSALM will soon release a new bid bulletin.

No comments:

Post a Comment