Sale of Napocor assets delayed

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) said yesterday the actual sale of the transmission assets of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) will take place until after the third quarter of this year.

"We expect more than a three-to four-month delay on the Transco privatization," PSALM president Edgardo Del Fonso said in an interview.

He said that delay would be caused by the legislative action they have to undertake before the actual privatization kicks off.

"We have endorsed the bill to Congress last Friday. They (Congress) said we should count around 19 weeks for the approval of the bill," he said.

PSALM has filed some amendments to some provisions of the Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

The proposed amendments will grant Transco a new nationwide franchise for operation of the transmission system and power grid for a period of 50 years.

The existing law does not allow the transfer of the franchise of the Napocor to other utilities. Thus, the Napocor’s existing nationwide franchise which will expire in 2036 will remain. Napocor, after the privatization of some of its transmission and generation assets will function as a missionary firm that will operate all the small power utilities group (SPUG), including the Agus and Pulangui geothermal power plants which will not be sold until after 10 years under the law.

The amendments would also allow Transco to transfer its franchise to operate the transmission system and grid to a concessionaire that will win the bidding process of PSALM. – Donnabelle Gatdula