P40 billion power deal up for Panay-Guimaras 'power' consortium
A "power" deal for a "power" consortium.
Literally and figuratively speaking too for the region's biggest, and thus far, only electric cooperative consortium. With at least P40 billion in expected contract or contracts to be awarded "anytime soon," The News Today (TNT) got the confirmation as bidding process in the past weeks reportedly progressed "smoothly."
Called the Panay-Guimaras Power Consortium (PGPC), power players here are the men and women behind the Iloilo Electric Cooperative 1 (ILECO 1), ILECO 2, ILECO 3, Guimaras Electric Cooperative (GUIMELCO), Capiz Electric Cooperative (CAPELCO) and Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO).
Consortium president is ILECO 1's Wilfredo Billena and vice president is ILECO 2's Dennis Ventilacion.
Ventilacion spoke with The News Today (TNT) and said that the consortium was reached as the deadline nears for all electric cooperatives with contracts to the National Power Corporation (NPC). As provided for by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA Law, coop-contracts with government's NPC is only until 2010.
As such, NPC will no longer supply or sell power to Distribution Utilities (DUs) or as in the case here, said electric cooperatives of the PGPC.
"We believe that there is strength in numbers so we negotiated with the power suppliers as a consortium," Ventilacion said. "Depending on the final outcome, we will come up with either a single or multiple award... But me personally? I don't believe in putting all your eggs in one basket."
Out in the first bid was total base load requirement of the PGPC set at an average of 90 megawatts. It was not immediately clear what the total peak-load requirement is of the seven electric cooperatives.
Concerns being ironed out, Ventilacion disclosed, are focused on sustainability, reliability and availability of the power supply.
"But the contracts to be drawn will be clear on that and the volume of load needed," came his quick clarification.
ILECO 2 for its part will buy power from this new private source alongside the supply expected to be generated from the Central Azucarera de San Antonio (CASA) in Passi City.
"We are committed to our power supply agreement with CASA and with this in consideration, we presented our load requirements to the consortium in this latest negotiation," Ventilacion added.
To date though, the CASA – ILECO 2 deal has yet to fully take-off pending final say of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The P40 billion deal is set on a 25 year-period or maximum contracted time.
Ventilacion said among the bidders were from two renewable power plants.
"They already have advantage over fossil fuel plants since under the EPIRA Law, these plants using renewable sources are exempted from the Value-Added-Tax (VAT). Again, the considerations here are reliability of sources but then we also know that they have multiple sources really of raw materials. It all depends on the final deliberations and the results will happen very soon," Ventilacion ended.
Other bidders were the Consunji's DMCI, Metrobank subsidiary Global Business Power Corporation, Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corporation and foreign group Petroxy.
To note, it is in Panay Island where the region recorded the highest growth in terms of energy consumption.