Transparency urged in Leyte power plant privatization bid

MANILA, Philippines - Leyte fourth district Representative-elect Lucy Torres-Gomez yesterday pushed for preferential power rates for her district, or at least for the municipality of Kanangga and Ormoc City.

Gomez’s assertion came in time for the opening of the scheduled bidding for the privatization of the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant located at the fourth district of Leyte, specifically on portions of Kanangga and Ormoc City.

The Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant is the biggest of its kind in the Philippines and Asia, being a 640-megawatt geothermal plant servicing Leyte, Cebu and even parts of Luzon.

To date, it is the only existing geothermal plant still controlled by the government but is now considered for privatization.

Gomez is asking for transparency and the exercise of due diligence in the bidding process which begins today, to make sure that the privatization of the geothermal plant will not result in another power rate hike in her district.

She is also urging the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. to ensure that the outcome of the privatization of the Independent Power Producer Administrator for the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant will be lower power rates.

Gomez said that in previous privatizations of National Power Corp. (Napocor) plants, PSALM reportedly used the replacement cost methodology which considered the depreciated value of a brand new power plant instead of its book value in setting the reserved price.

Gomez reiterated that although she supports privatization, the welfare of her constituents will remain her priority.