IPP contracts sale pushed Amy R. Remo Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 04, 2009
MANILA, Philippines — Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) expects to bid out 70 percent of the government’s independent power producer (IPP) contracts by June 2010.
Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Epira), the sale of 70 percent of IPPs is a condition for the introduction and implementation of open access and retail competition, which would allow large power users to choose their own electricity suppliers.
PSALM documents showed that the 70-percent privatization level is equivalent to 4,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity output.
This target, however, runs contrary to the estimates of some industry stakeholders, who are expecting the government to bid out the contracts by yearend.
Last week, the government rejected bids for contracts to manage two coal-fired power plants—the 1,000-megawatt (MW) Sual and 700-MW Pagbilao facilities because these did not meet the reserve price.
These were the first IPP administrator contracts that were bid out to the private sector for management.
