Nine investors are expected to vie for the appointment of independent power producer administrators (IPPAs) to manage the National Power Corporation’s contracted capacities in the San Roque, Bakun, and Benguet hydroelectric power plants.

This was confirmed by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation after the deadline for the execution and undertaking of a Confidentiality Agreement with PSALM and the payment of the non-refundable USD10,000 Participation Fee lapsed last Tuesday, 22 September 2009.

The government’s power privatization agency also reported that the nine bidders have each received their Bidding Packages, and are currently conducting their Due Diligence on the hydro IPPs. The Due Diligence can be held until two days before the Bid Submission Deadline.

PSALM, which published the Invitation to Bid (ITB) on 07 to 09 September 2009, will hold the Pre-bid Conference for the interested parties on Wednesday, 30 September 2009, to discuss the Bidding Procedures.  The bidding is scheduled on 11 November 2009.

At stake in this particular bidding are National Power’s contracted capacities in the 345-megawatt (MW) San Roque Multipurpose Hydroelectric Power Plant, the 70-MW Bakun Hydroelectric Power Plant, and the 30-MW Benguet Mini-Hydro power plants, which are all located in Northern Luzon.

The San Roque hydro plant is based in San Manuel, Pangasinan, while the Bakun plant is located in Alilem, Ilocos Sur. The Benguet mini-hydro facilities lie in the Cordillera Administrative Region province that is home to the Philippines’s summer capital, Baguio City.

PSALM will adopt the same two-envelope bidding system it uses for its bidding exercises in this auction. The bidders, however, will have to submit three separate bids for each of the contracted capacities to be considered as a qualified participant.

Conrad S. Tolentino, acting vice president of PSALM’s Asset Management and Electricity Trading, said the interested parties “have to bid for all and can win as many as they can” in the bidding for the three hydro facilities. Thus, bidders who will submit an offer for only one or any two of the contracted capacities will be disqualified, he pointed out. Likewise, a joint bid for any of the contracted capacities will not be authorized.

PSALM’s rules stipulate that a qualified bidder may be declared the winning bidder for any one or all of the contracted capacities.