PSALM finalizing sale of power barges to Phinma unit

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., the government agency handling the sale of state-owned power assets, is aiming to conclude the sale of Power Barges 101 to 103 by the end of the year.

PSALM is negotiating with TransAsia Oil & Energy Corp., the power generation company of the Phinma Group, for the sale of the power barges.

PSALM bid out the barges last year with SPC Island Power, a unit of SPC Power Corp. emerging as the highest bidder with P545.89 million but the company decided to terminate its asset purchase agreement with the government after PB 103 suffered severe damage from Super Typhoon Yolanda last year.

As such, PSALM decided to negotiate with Trans-Asia, the second highest bidder.

“We are almost done with the negotiations.We are just finalizing some details regarding the memorandum of agreement with Trans-Asia,” PSALM president Emmanuel Ledesma said.

He expressed optimism both parties can conclude negotiations before the end of the year.

PSALM also committed to shoulder part of the cost of the repair of the barges of up to P20 million to help expedite the privatization.

These power barges are nominal 32- megawatt ( MW) barge- mounted bunker-fired diesel generating power stations that consist of four identical Hitachi-Sulzer diesel generator units rated at eight MW each.

PBs 101-102 are currently stationed at Bo. Obrero in Iloilo City and were commissioned in 1981, while PBs 103 and 104 are moored in Botongon, Estancia, Iloilo and at the Holcim Compound, Ilang, Davao City, respectively and began operating in 1985.

The government offered the barges in two packages consisting of PB 101, 102 and 103 for the first package and PB 104 as the second package.

Bidding for PB 104 was declared a failure because bidders did not meet the requirements, according to PSALM.