PSALM again to bid out power barges after two failed auctions

After two failed biddings in 2012, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation is set to bid out again the four state-owned power barges—three in Visayas and one in Mindanao—in the second half of the year. This time, however, the three power barges in Visayas will not be moved to Mindanao due to the cost the transfer would entail, despite the need for additional capacity. “After due consideration, the PSALM board has approved the privatization of the power barges through another round of public bidding that includes some changes in the terms of the sale,” president and chief executive officer Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. said in a statement. PSALM will sell as one package the Power Barges (PB) 101, 102 and 103, all based in Iloilo province. PB 104 will be sold as a separate package and the buyer will be required to operate the barge in Mindanao for at least five years. "Considering cost and period to transfer, it is not economically viable to transfer the barges to Mindanao. The obligation to transfer the barges is also one of the reasons cited by prospective buyers for not participating in previous biddings," Ledesma said in a separate text message to GMA News Online. In the previous bidding parameters, the barges in the Visayas were required to be transferred and operated in Mindanao to supply the much-needed capacity to the power grid in the south. The board has also agreed to sell the power barges on an “as is, where is” basis. “This means that no purchase request or purchase order will be attached to the sale agreement,” Ledesma noted in the statement. After only one bidder showed up in the first two rounds of bidding, PSALM declare both exercises a failure. In the first bidding on May 16, 2012, only ACTA Power, a joint venture of Ayala Corporation’s AC Energy Holdings and Phinma Corporation’s Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corporation, submitted an offer. In the second auction on August 17, 2012, only Trans-Asia made a bid but subsequent negotiations with the company went nowhere as the company and PSALM were not able to agree on a price. Commissioned in 1981, PBs 101 and 102 are now stationed in Obrero, Iloilo City. PB 103 is moored in in Botongon, Estancia in Iloilo, and PB 104 is at the Holcim Compound in  Ilang, Davao City. — VS, GMA News