Misamis seeks deferment of steag IPPA privatization

MANILA, Philippines - The Misamis Oriental Provincial Board is asking the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (Psalm) to defer the privatization of the Steag State Power Inc. Independent power producer administration (IPPA) contract for its power plants 1 & 2.

“This move of Psalm is untimely, inconsiderate and bereft of any consultation of those who will be affected in the process,” Misamis Oriental vice governor Jose Maria G. Pelaez said in Resolution No. 240-2015.

The resolution was passed unanimously by the provincial board during its regular session last Sept. 7.

The board invited several resource persons from the province’s power distributors Misamis Oriental Rural Electric Cooperatives 1 &2, the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives (AMRECO) and consumer groups like Konsumanteng Kagay-anon, Inc. (KKI) and Power Alternative Agenda in Mindanao Inc. (PALAG-Mindanao) to share their experience and perspectives on the planned privatization.

Both power distributors related their adverse experiences with the recent privatization of the Mt. Apo Geothermal IPPA which resulted in a rate impact of more or less sixty centavos per kilowatt hour to the electricity bills of residential consumers in their service areas.

Edna Diango, Moresco-1 institutional service manager, said the utility was getting an allocation of   10 megawatts of power from Mt. Apo through PSALM for the blended rate of only P3 per kilowatt hour prior to privatization.

After FDC Misamis won the IPPA privatization bid,  it was lucky to be able to secure the same allocation through a bilateral contract with FDC.