VECO seeks bids for new power plant
Monday, April 24, 2006
By MYRNA M. VELASCO
To augment its power supply for the next five years, Visayan Electric Company Inc. (VECO) is seeking out tenders for a 200-megawatt capacity that shall be set on stream starting 2010.
"We have been getting some offers but we prefer to do everything by competitive bidding…we scheduled that by June this year," announced Aboitiz Equity Ventures president and chief executive officer Jon Ramon Aboitiz. AEV holds substantial shareholdings in VECO.
At the deadline of investor registration, VECO listed four interested parties which will likely advance to join the June 5 bidding. These are Mirant Global Corporation, KepcoSalcon Power Corporation, Applied Research Technologies Philippines, Inc. and Pacific Manufacturing Resources.
As forecasted, the power supply of VECO will go up to 354 MW starting 2010; thus, the need for additional 200 MW tucked into its system.
The power facility being solicited set outs specification that it shall be capable of operating on a baseload mode and shall have an operating life of 25 years.
The distribution company is not laying down any specification on the type of technology that shall be employed; but Aboitiz hints that the price shall be competitive enough; if reference has to be set from the grid rate of the National Power Corporation.
VECO currently procures significant chunk of its supply from independent power producer Cebu Private Power Corporation.
The selling rate of the facility has been pegged with that of NPC’s; but when the government moved to unilaterally reduce the state-run power firm’s fuel and purchased power cost adjustment; the financial viability of the CPPC was affected; thus, the need to amend their contract to reflect true cost of generation.
For the new power capacity being solicited, VECO has noted that interested investors "can propose any technology, fuel mix or plant configuration" as long as this will meet the prescribed configurations.
The utility firm further emphasized that the plant shall have a gross capacity of 100-MW deliverable by January 1, 2010; and the other 100-MW shall be set on stream by January 1, 2011.
To avoid any transmission bottleneck and as a way of ensuring that rates turn out more competitive, VECO noted that the generating capacity shall be located within the island of Cebu.
It has been noted that the siting of the facility has bearing on "the long term reliability and supply of electric power to the consumers of VECO and at reasonable rates."
VECO’s franchise area covers the Metro Cebu area and about six neighboring municipalities. It counts around 295,000 households as customers; in addition to commercial establishments and industries.
posted by philpower @ 10:38 AM,
