27 Feb 2006
The role and the future of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), one of the vital components in the ongoing restructuring and privatization of the Philippine power industry, will be discussed in a Bidders' Forum slated on Wednesday, March 1, at the Department of Energy.
Lasse Matti Holopainen, president of the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) which will handle the WESM operations, will be the guest speaker during the forum that will dwell on the theme "WESM: A Look at the Prospects of Investors in the Electricity Market." Holopainen is expected to address issues and concerns regarding the WESM whose operations are set to begin within the year.
The forum will be participated in by the 24 investor groups who have formally signified to bid for the four power plant packages being offered this year by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the government's privatization arm. PSALM organized the forum, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the Audio-Visual Room of the DOE in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
The 24 investor groups consist of one Australian, one European, five Asian, including two Japanese, five American, and 12 Filipino companies.
Four of these investor groups are bidding for the Calaca coal-fired thermal power plant. The Magat and the Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power facilities each has 13 bidders, while 15 investor groups expressed interest in the Tiwi-Makban geothermal power complex.
PSALM Vice President for Asset Management and Electricity Trading Froilan A. Tampinco, who will introduce Holopainen during the forum, expressed his appreciation to the investors for their continued interest in all aspects of the restructuring and privatization of the power industry.
"The bidders' forum is an auspicious beginning for PSALM this year as it enables us to further strengthen our ties with investor groups, particularly in terms of addressing issues and concerns regarding the whole restructuring and privatization process," Tampinco said. "We intend to hold similar activities this year to help us meet the targets we have set in the planning sessions we recently held."
Strategic Communications and Partnership Division |