PSALM EYES PRIVATAZING PLANTS, SELLING LOTS IN 2018

STATE- RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. ( PSALM) is determined to push through with privatizing a few power facilities to lower operational costs and raise more funds to repay obligations.

In a statement on Tuesday, PSALM identified the facilities as the 650- megawatt ( MW) Malaya Thermal Power Plant Complex in Pililia town, Rizal province and the 200- MW Mindanao Coal- fired Thermal Power Plant in Misamis Oriental province.

PSALM had postposed privatizing the Malaya plant because of the Department of Energy’s ( DoE) plan to revise the terms of reference ( TOR) that would allow the facility’s conversion into a liquefied natural gas ( LNG) plant.

For the Mindanao coal plant, PSALM said it may continue to wait for an appropriate time to sell it.

“Reprieved from power outages in recent years, Mindanao, [ at] this time, is experiencing [ an] oversupply of electricity” after new plants were built, it added.

The facility may not attract much investments because of this, PSALM said.

Besides selling the Malaya and Mindanao plants, PSALM also wants to rehabilitate the Agus- Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plant ( HEPP) and extend its life by 30 more years.

It must determine by 2019 the feasibility, TOR and funding options, and general groundwork for the National Power Corp.’s ( Napocor) rehabilitation of AgusPulangi.

PSALM would also continue to manage, trade and sell output from the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant, including the 40- MW “strip of energy” under listed PHINMA Energy Corp.

In December PSALM and PHINMA Energy agreed to end an administration agreement involving the geothermal complex in Ormoc City’s Tonongan village.

“PSALM may no longer subject the plant to public bidding as its independent power producer contract will be expiring in 2021- 2022,” it said. The state- run firm would also work on disposing its non- power assets, including 231 lots, as part of its real estate asset privatization program. The lots include eight ( 20,975 square meters) of the decommissioned Manila Thermal Power Plant in Paco and 92 ( 257,995 sq. m.) of the Bauang Diesel Power Plant in La Union province.

PSALM owns 6,160 lots with an aggregate area of about 10,000 hectares. This include its two- unit Puerto Azul Ocean Villas Condominium in Cavite province, which it offered to sell to members of the Puerto Azul Golf and Country Club last month.