ENS bags Casecnan O&M contract

BY LENIE LECTURA – OCTOBER 14, 2021
from Business Mirror

Korean firm Soosan ENS Co. Ltd. was declared the winning bidder for the one-year operation and maintenance (O&M) contract for the 165-megawatt (MW) Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant (CHPP).

According to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), Soosan ENS submitted the lowest bid at P252,996,800.00, which is lower than the budget of P462,000,000 that the PSALM has set aside.

The other qualified bidders are SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc., which submitted a bid offer of P261,556,168.02, and KEPCO KPS Philippines, which offered P391,491,723.84.

PSALM will now conduct a post-qualification process to ensure that Soosan ENS met all the financial and legal requirements.

If Soosan ENS passes the post-qualification process, it will be given sufficient lead time to familiarize itself with the operations of the CHPP before the contract takes effect on November 26. “We are optimistic that with the successful public bidding for the Casecnan Plant’s operation and maintenance contract. PSALM can now proceed to prepare for the ultimate plan of privatizing the Casecnan Plant consistent with the clear mandate in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act,” said PSALM President Irene B. Garcia.

The CHPP is a 165-megawatt combined irrigation and power generation facility in Sitio Pauan Brgy. Villarica Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.

CHPP is covered by a build-operate-transfer agreement that will end in December.

The National Irrigation Administration will own 40 percent while PSALM will own 60 percent of CHPP. However, the National Irrigation Administration has allowed PSALM to handle the procurement of the O&M contract and to start the preparation of the privatization of CHPP. The CHPP is a “run-of-river” type of plant with very limited impounding area. The water from the reservoir flows into the plant’s power house down to the Pantabangan Lake and into the irrigation channels.