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PSALM names Soosan ENS lowest bidder for 165-MW Casecnan Hydro O&M contract

PSALM names Soosan ENS lowest bidder for 165-MW Casecnan Hydro O&M contract

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) declared Soosan ENS Co. Ltd. as the lowest bidder for the Operation and Maintenance Service Contract (OMSC) for the 165-MW Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant (CHPP) in the Philippines.

Soosan ENS submitted the lowest bid at PHP252,996,800, which is substantially lower than the PHP462,000,000 budget the PSALM Board of Directors approved for this contract. The other qualified bidders were SN Aboitiz Power-Magat, Inc. and KEPCO KPS Philippines Corporation.

The next stage is for PSALM to subject the bid of Soosan ENS to the post-qualification process, pursuant to Republic Act No. 9184. This process will ensure that Soosan ENS met all the financial and legal requirements as indicated in the bidding procedures of PSALM. If Soosan ENS passes the post-qualification process, it will be given sufficient lead time to familiarize itself with the operations of CHPP before the contract’s beginning date of Nov. 26, 2021.

“We are optimistic that with the successful public bidding for the Casecnan Plant’s operation and maintenance contract, PSALM can now proceed to prepare for the ultimate plan of privatizing the Casecnan Plant, consistent with the clear mandate in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act,” PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Irene Besido-Garcia said.

CHPP is a combined irrigation and power generation facility located at Sitio Pauan, Brgy. Villarica, Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija on the island of Luzon, about 150 km north of Manila. CHPP is covered by a build-operate-transfer agreement ending on Dec. 11, 2021. The National Irrigation Administration will own 40%, while PSALM will own 60% of CHPP. However, the National Irrigation Administration has allowed PSALM to handle the procurement of the OMSC and to start the preparation for privatization of CHPP.

CHPP is a run-of-river plant with very limited impounding area. The National Irrigation Administration will continue its mandate of irrigating farmlands despite the privatization of the power component of said facility.