Bidding for Pinamucan power plant transfer fails

The bidding for the transfer of the 110-megawatt (MW) Pinamucan power plant in Batangas failed yesterday as all three prospective proponents submitted higher bids than the approved budget of P535 million, a report from National Power Corp. (Napocor) said.

The three bidders were the EEI consortium, the Dingle II consortium and First Philippine Balfour Beatty.

According to Napocor, the three consortia were able to pass the technical specification bids during the opening of the first envelope (technical proposal) but all failed in the second envelope (price proposals).

Napocor did not say when the next bidding will be but under the law, after two successive failed biddings, the government can pursue a negotiated deal.

The power firm also did not reveal who among the three bidders submitted the lowest bid.

The transfer of the Pinamucan plant to Dingle in Iloilo was supposed to be one of government’s crucial solutions to avert a possible power crisis in the Visayas. Power outages are already being felt in the area, particularly in the Panay Island.

Late last month, Napocor decided to postpone the bidding to Dec. 9 to thresh out some issues raised by prospective bidders.

Napocor sources said some of the bidders believed that the P535-million allotted budget for the lock, stock and barrel transfer of the power plant from Batangas to Iloilo was not enough to cover the entire cost of the project.

The transfer is expected to take at least 10 months.

According to the bidding requirements issued by Napocor’s Contracts Awards Committee (CAC), the project will involve the dismantling, hauling, transfer and installation of four 12.94-MW and four 14.63-MW diesel generator sets, auxiliary equipment and powerhouse from Pinamucan to Dingle.

The winning bidder will also be required to supply various electro-mechanical materials and equipment needed for the safe and reliable operation of the plant after the transfer, and to undertake the construction of equipment foundations, power foundations, intrasite road networks and other plant facilities. Finally, the contractor will be responsible for the testing and commissioning of the power plant, which will be renamed the Dingle diesel power plant II.

The Pinamucan power plant was built in 1993 by Enron Power Corp. under the build-operate-transfer scheme. The ownership of the plant has since reverted to Napocor after its 10-year contract with Enron expired last July.