PSALM seeks bids for privatization of coal-fired plant in Mindanao

by Lenie Lectura, 03 April 2015
from BusinessMirror

THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. has started soliciting bid invites for the Independent Power Producer Administrator (IPPA) contract for the 200-megawatt (MW) Mindanao Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant (Mindanao Coal).

The Mindanao Coal IPPA selection, according to PSALM President Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., is the second privatization activity of PSALM for this year, following the launch of the IPPA selection for the Bulk Energy of the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plants two weeks ago.

There will be a prebid conference, which primarily discusses PSALM’s bidding procedures, scheduled on May 6.

The submission and opening of bids will be held on September 23.

Located in Misamis Oriental, the Mindanao coal plant was constructed in 2006 under a 25-year Build-Operate-Transfer-Power Purchase Agreement scheme with the government.

The power facility is made up of two units, with a generating capacity of 105 MW each.

It is currently being operated by Steag State Power Inc. of Germany, and accounts for about 20 percent of Mindanao’s total power supply.

The cooperation period with the operator officially ends in 2031.

Abotiz Power Corp. had already expressed interest to bid for the privatization of the power-
supply contract of the said power facility.

“Part of the schedule of PSALM is also to do the Steag IPPA. We will look into that also,” said company president and CEO Erramon Aboitiz.

PSALM is the agency mandated by Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, to handle the sale of the remaining state power assets and financial obligations of the National Power Corp.