PSALM rebids IPPA deal for Unified Leyte geothermal plant

After an aborted privatization in 2013 because of the damage wrought by super typhoon Yolanda on the Unified Leyte geothermal power plant (ULGPP), the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) is once again scheduling for bidding the appointment of an independent power producer administrator (IPPA) for the plant’s contracted capacity.

The invitation- to- bid for the IPPA of the ‘bulk energy’ component of the Leyte geothermal assets’ capacity was published March 13 (Friday), PSALM has announced.

The Unified Leyte plant comprises of the 125-megawatt Upper Mahiao, 232.5MW Malitbog and the 180MW Mahanagdong facilities; plus the 51MW optimization units.

It has to be recalled that the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corporation (EDC) won the ‘bulk energy’ IPPA, but the company had withdrawn from it after assessing the damage on the facilities at the aftermath of the country’s worst typhoon.

At that time, EDC was declared to have posted the highest offer of 215 million for the bulk energy portion of the IPPA.

Several other companies cornered the 40MW strips of the offered IPPA-managed capacities – and that then make the plant’s supply contract partly privatized.

However, the privatization scheme set for the Leyte plant mandates that the IPPA for the bulk energy takes the responsibility of trading the Unified Leyte’s total output as well as all the necessary applications required by the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

It is the plant’s contracted capacity under its power purchase agreement (PPA) that is being offered to private sector takers as part of the continuing divestment program of the state- owned power assets.