SPC Power Keen on Joining Bidding Anew for Naga Power Complex

The publicly-listed SPC Power Corp. is interested to bid again should the Naga Power Plant Complex (NPPC) in Naga City in southern Cebu be put up for rebidding , an official said.

Alfredo Henares, chairman of the SPC Power Corp., said the SC ruling was merely to nullify the bidding out and the company’s exercise of the right to top.

“It wasn’t expounded upon on what actions Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), was supposed to take. But if you follow the rationale for the ruling, it said the government should get the best offer and obviously, the best offer was ours since we topped the winning bid,” Henares said.

“The logical thing would be for the government to rebid the plant. There is really no intent of the government to keep that plant. So it’s likely that PSALM will now rebid the plant and if they rebid it, we would be interested to participate again,” Henares said.

The firm hasn’t received the invitation to bid yet but Henares said there were already informal talks.

“Informally, we were told. We have been talking to them and they agreed that the logical thing to do given the Supreme Court decision is to rebid it,” said Henares.

The firm’s purchase of the 153.1-megawatt NPPC from PSALM last Sept. 25, 2014 through public bidding was questioned and ruled with finality to be null and void by the Supreme Court (SC).

The SC denied the attempts of the firm to seek reversal of the ruling.

The SPC Power Corp. is maintaining the NPPC.

After the firm bought the power plant in 2014, Henares said the company invested on various feasibility studies from environment to engineering, economic and market studies and issued an invitation to bid when the SC decision came in.

“We were actually ready to proceed,” he said, but if they win the rebidding, he said they are now more than ready to progress to the next steps.

But if they lose the bid, Henares said , the company would eye other sites to put up power plants in Cebu.

“We are looking at several sites now all over Cebu,” he said.

SPC said it would continue to pursue businesses in coal-fired power plants, power barges, biomass, hydro and geothermal power plants.

SPC’s subsidiaries include Bohol Light Company Inc.; SPC Island Power Corp.; SPC Malaya Power Corp.; and SPC Electric Company Inc.

The company’s associates are Mactan Electric Company Inc. and KEPCO SPC Power Corp.

The firm closed 2015 with a consolidated net income of Php 1.51 billion, which is almost the same as the total consolidated income registered in 2014. (PNA) RMA/EB/EDS