07 Jun 2007
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), working in tandem with the National Power Corp., has attached an aggregate 264.514 megawatts (MW) of power supply contracts to the 600-MW Masinloc coal-fired plant as part of its commitment to fast-track the government's power privatization program.
"The power supply contract is part of our deliverables," PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Jose C. Ibazeta assured the 19 investor groups that attended the second pre-bid conference for the Zambales-based power facility last Tuesday, 05 June. Twenty-two prospective bidders attended the first pre-bid conference held last 08 May.
The supply contract represents 44% of the Masinloc plant's total rated capacity. The significance of the power supply contract was discussed by Mr. Salvador D. Sarmiento, a member of National Power's Technical Working Group for the privatization of the Masinloc plant.
Thanking the bidders for their continued interest in Masinloc and the whole power privatization program, Mr. Ibazeta expressed optimism that the power plant would be bid out on 26 July as originally scheduled.
"This is going to be a very interesting and transparent auction because we have a good group participating in the bidding process," he noted.
Mr. Ibazeta also announced during the conference that PSALM will soon publish the Invitation to Bid for its other coal-fired power facility, the 600-MW Calaca plant, located in Batangas.
"We really want to speed up the sale of the generation assets to reach the 70% privatization target by 2008 as a prerequisite to open access and retail competition," he said. "From the investor's viewpoint, open access is important because that's where you'll make your returns. We remain committed to get you there as fast as possible."
The second pre-bid conference held at the Dusit Hotel Nikko in Makati City also included a briefing on the operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) conducted by Mario R. Pangilinan, executive vice president of WESM operator Philippine Electricity Market Corp.
A discussion on the role and prospects of the WESM will be helpful for the bidders considering that most of them are new entrants in the bidding exercises being conducted by PSALM.
The 22 investor groups that have expressed interest in the bidding for the Masinloc power facility include 15 foreign companies and seven local firms. Of the 15 foreign companies, seven come from the Asia-Pacific region, four from North America, and four from the United Kingdom and Europe.
Strategic Communications and Partnership Division |