Napocor inks 5-yr supply deal for Barit power plant

The National Power Corp. (Napocor) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Philippine Energy Services Inc. (PESI) for the five-year supply of feed-back power to the Barit hydroelectric power plant in Camarines Sur.

PESI, a former Napocor unit, was taken over by he group led by Atty. Ramon I. Constancio afer winning the public bidding for the Barit power plant last year.

Constancio is a partner at the Abad Constancio & Mallonga law firm based in New York City. Constancio bested in the June 2004 public bidding for Barit after tendering an offer of $480,000.

Under the said agreement, Napocor will provide feed-back power for the station service requirements of the 1.8-megawatt power plant.

Feed-back power refers to the electricity that has to be supplied to a power plant for start-up, in case it has to be shut down for repairs or maintenance work.

PESI entered into the MOA with Napocor after signing an energy supply agreement with PESI’s first customer, the Camarines Sur I Electric Cooperative (CASURECO I). The move was also in apparent preparation for the expansion of the Barit power plant.

PESI director and plant manager Pervical Favoreal earlier said there are plans to upgrade the capacity of the 47-year-old power plant and improve the housing and recreational facilities within the Barit compound.

The Barit mini-hydro facility was among the first power plants sold by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) since it started bidding out the generation assets of Napocor in March last year.

PSALM, which handles the finances and assets of Napocor, formally turned over the Barit plant to its new owners last Jan. 24.

Napocor senior vice president for corporate affairs Roland S. Quilala said the MOA with PESI reflects how the state-run power firm’s ongoing privatization will evolve in the next few years.

"This is a special development because one of our very own power plants has now become our customer," Quilala said.