Three bidders are expected to show up today at the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) office for the auction of the 75-megawatt (mw) Ambuklao and 100-mw Binga hydroelectric power plants.
PSALM said Calaca Power Partners Co. Ltd., First Gen Hydro Power Corp. and SN Aboitiz Power Hydro Inc. (SNAP) will be submitting offers to own and operate the Northern Luzon-based Ambuklao-Binga power facilities.
Calaca Power, operating under the name Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., won the bidding for the 600-mw Masinloc coal-fired thermal power plant last July. Its partner is AES Calaca Pte Ltd., a Singaporean Limited liability company licensed to do business in the Philippines.
With its bid of $129 million, First Gen was declared the winning bidder for the 112-mw Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plant complex PSALM auctioned off on Sept. 8, 2006. The plant is located in Nueva Ecija.
In a December 2006, meanwhile, auction SNAP offered $530 million for the 360-mw Magat hydroelectric power plant which has the largest generating capacity among the operating hydroelectric power plants on the auction block. SNAP and PSALM recently signed the deed of absolute sale for the Isabela-based facility to complete its privatization.
Based on the recommendation of the National Power Corp. and the preference of the bidders, power supply contracts will not be attached to the sale of the Ambuklao-Binga complex. Because of the seasonal operation of the hydro plants, they only generate electricity when there is a sufficient amount of water in the reservoirs. In this case, a power supply contract may not be advantageous to the prospective owner, as it may find it difficult meeting the projected contract level assigned in the supply contract.
The country’s first and second hydroelectric power plants, respectively, the Ambuklao-Binga power facilities run along the upper portion of Luzon’s longest waterway, the Agno River. Binga, which is located in Itogon, Benguet, lies 19 kilometers downstream of the Ambuklao plant in the Bokod town of the same province.
Construction of the Ambuklao plant was completed in December 1956. Ambuklao’s three 25-mw generating units have been under preservation by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) since 2000.
At present, the release of water from Ambuklao is being regulated for use by the Binga hydro plant.
The Binga plant, on the other hand, consists of four 25-mw generators, which were commissioned in 1960. It can operate as a base-load plant during high water levels and for peaking during low water levels. It can also provide ancillary services.
One of the responsibilities of the winning bidder is to rehabilitate the Ambuklao hydro plant and make it operational to 65 mw, minimum, within a period of seven years from the date of turnover.