Thermopower gets P95.8-M contract to supply gen-sets to Napocor

The National Power Corporation (Napocor) has awarded energy firm Thermopower Inc.  a P95.8-million contract to supply it with 14 diesel generator sets for its power supply program for off-grid areas. In a public bidding held last September, Thermopower submitted the lowest bid of P95,786,909.40, beating the offer made by the joint venture of Powermax Co., Ltd. and Hansei Corporation of P111,321,570.11. Thermopower’s bid is also within Napocor's approved budget for the contract of P97.9 million. The 14 gen-sets, each with a capacity of 600 kilowatts, will be deployed to nine areas serviced by Napocor's missionary electrification unit, the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG). The Basco diesel power plant in Batanes and Power Barge 116 in Larena Port, Siquijor will each receive three gen-sets, while two gen-sets will be delivered to Power Barge 113 in Lapiz Port, Siquijor. Casiguran in Aurora, Quezon; Lubang in Occidental Mindoro; Power Barge 109 in Tablas Island, Romblon; Power Barge 111 in Sultan Kudarat; Siasi in Sulu; and Sitangkai in Tawi Tawi will each receive one gen-set. The gen-sets' delivery, installation, testing and commissioning will be completed by the third quarter. Napocor earlier awarded three contracts totaling P20.285 million to Power Dimension Inc. to put up gen-sets in Brgy. Toytoy, Palumbanes Island, Caramoran, Catanduanes; Brgy. Atulayan, Sagnay, Camarines Sur project; and Brgy. Cabul-an, Buenavista, Bohol. SPUG has 277 land-based diesel power plants, 11 barge-mounted mobile power plants, a hydroelectric plant and a hybrid wind turbine farm providing power to 221 island grids. The state-run power company needs P17.136 for SPUG's operational requirements this year. — BM, GMA News