PSALM eyes split sale of Unified Leyte geothermal power plant

MANILA, Philippines - After abandoning plans to sell the Ilijan power plant contracts in tranches, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is now eyeing to split the sale of the 588-megawatt (MW) Unified Leyte geothermal power facilities.

Energy Secretary and PSALM vice chairman Jose Ibazeta said “they are looking at “splitting up the sale of Unified Leyte but it will depend on the ERC Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).”

Ibazeta noted that there are rules being implemented by the ERC which have to conform with the sale of the geothermal facilities.

“I think there are issues about market cap in the Visayas. That is, if we sell in one piece, the buyer may violate the limit. We are still looking at it. It would be the ERC who will decide,” he said.

PSALM, he said, is firming up the sale of all the independent power producers (IPPs) contracts within the year to be able to start the open access scheme. It is targeted that if the asset management firm could sell 70 percent of the IPP contracts, it could push through with open access, a scheme specified in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) that would enable the consumers to choose where they could source their power requirement, by early next year.

PSALM is set to bid out the 1,200-MW Ilijan IPP contracts by April 16. This will bring the privatization level for IPPs to 68 percent.

Under the EPIRA, PSALM has to sell 70 percent of the generating assets of the National Power Corp. in Luzon and Visayas and 70 percent of IPP contracts before open access kicks in.

“After Ilijan, Psalm is set to bid out Unified Leyte. With Ilijan being privatized at 68 percent of the IPP contracts. We need to compute if that’s already fine, though that will