PSALM, Napocor renew O&M deal for power plants

MANILA, Philippines - The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and National Power Corp. (Napocor) have renewed their operation and maintenance agreement.

PSALM president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said under the agreement, Napocor would remain as the service provider for much of the remaining state-owned power assets being overseen by PSALM.

“The agreement is in accordance with Section 47(j) of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, (EPIRA) which states that ‘Napocor may generate and sell electricity only from the generating assets and IPP (independent power producer) contracts of PSALM,” Ledesma said.

PSALM is the government corporation created by the EPIRA, the power reform law, to privatize the assets of Napocor.

Thus, under the new agreement, Napocor would operate, maintain, and manage PSALM’s remaining power plants and assets. Napocor, for its part, is tasked to maximize plant availability and performance, minimize outages and operations and maintenance costs.

Ledesma said the new agreement would cover Power Barges 101, 102, 103 and 104, as well as the Agus and Pulangui hydroelectric power plants in Mindanao.

Aside from these assets, Napocor would also provide personnel for supervision and preservation of PSALM’s decommissioned plants and other facilities to prevent the deterioration of serviceable equipment and systems prior to disposal or privatization.

These facilities include the Sucat thermal power plant in Muntinlupa City and the Bataan thermal power plant in Limay, Bataan.

PSALM raised P20.80 billion last year from the sale of power assets. Moving forward, PSALM still needs to sell several power plants with a total capacity of 1,600 to 1,700 megawatts and expects to raise up to $3.4 billion from the sale of the remaining assets which are lined up for privatization up to 2017.