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MAJORITY of the investor groups vying for the Amlan hydroelectric
power plant that will be auctioned off by state-run Power Sector
Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) in June have
qualified in the facility’s initial bidding stages.
In a statement, PSALM, which is tasked to
privatize government’s power assets, said that five of the seven
groups that have signified interest to bid for the 0.8-megawatt
generating plant have completed the initial requirements.
The Amlan facility is the first power plant to
be constructed in Negros Oriental and designed to operate as a
base-load plant supplying power to the town of Amlan and nearby
villages.
In its published Invitation to Bid, Psalm said
the initial requirements included the submission of a
Confidentiality Agreement and Undertaking and the payment of a $500
participation fee, which lapsed a week ago.
PSALM said that the five bidders will move on to
the next stage of the bidding exercise, including the conduct of due
diligence.
Two of the five investor groups keen on
acquiring the asset had previously participated in the bidding
exercises of other state-owned power plants, PSALM said.
The pre-bid conference for the Amlan power plant
is scheduled on Wednesday, while the bidding will be held on June
25.
Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of
2001, PSALM needs to privatize 70 percent of state-owned National
Power Corp.’s (Napocor) generating and contracted power plants
before an open access regime can start.
So far, the agency has achieved a 42.8 percent
privatization threshold for Napocor’s generating capacity while
the privatization of its contracts with independent power producers
(IPP) is scheduled for August.
-- Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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