During the previous SP regular session, a provincial board member delivered a privilege speech on the Terms of Reference (TOR) issued by the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) in connection with its Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for a new power provider.
Approved by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) after months of review that delayed the process, the TOR is part of the Invitation to Bid published last month for generation companies to offer bids for the cooperative’s intermediate, peaking, and reserve power requirements under a 15-year Power Supply Agreement.
In the speech, PBM Arnel Turado identified several provisions that he said raised serious concerns for competition, transparency and the welfare of FICELCO consumers.
He claimed that the TOR gave undue advantage to an existing local power supplier, which he did not identify but can only refer to SUWECO; some clauses create risks of price escalation and weak consumer protection; and, the TOR lacks sufficient safeguards.
He called on FICELCO to defer the award of the CSP until the TOR is amended, NEA to suspend the CSP pending TOR revision, and require the cooperative to publish a supplemental bid bulletin to address the concerns.
The following session last Monday during a committee hearing, a consumer group likewise urged the suspension of the CSP, the resignation of the existing Board of Directors and their replacement through district elections and the amendment of rules to allow a representative of consumer groups to sit as a board member.
Likewise, the group said that SUWECO’s failure to complete its remaining two hydro power plants is a violation of its contract with FICELCO, which consumers have been paying for until now.
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In plain language, FICELCO wants a supplier that will be able to supply 24 megawatts of power from just one energy resource, e.g. diesel, but at least a combination of fossil fuel and renewable energy (RE) like solar, wind or hydro power.
The minimum capacity to be put up within three years from signing of the agreement is N-1, meaning the supplier must still be able to supply 24 mW of electricity even if the largest of its power plants is not operational.
This largest capacity power plant is the larger of the generating capacity of the single largest non-renewable energy (diesel) and the total generating capacity of all RE plants to be established by the winning supplier.
By delivery date, even before the end of the three-year phase-in period, the new power provider must be able to provide a minimum capacity of 16 mW with N-1.
Of this 16 mW, at least 5.8 mW shall be delivered from a connection point in Palawig, San Andres and the rest from a similar point in San Isidro, Viga (4.3 mW) and Marinawa, Bato (13.9 mW).
To ensure safety and reliability even during calamities, the power plants (RE or fossil fuel-based) shall be built in non-disaster-prone areas based on hazard maps.
The cooperative also provided that to facilitate unbundling of costs, each power plant shall be powered exclusively by one energy resource.
For example, 13.9 mW diesel power plant at Marinawa, 4.3 mW solar power plant at San Isidro, Viga and 5.8 mW wind power plant at Palawig.
For lack of space, discussion of the TOR of FICELCO’s CSP will continue next issue…
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THE OWNER’S BUSINESS. A guy walks into a bar…and orders a steak. The guy behind the counter tells him it’ll be $1.
“One dollar?! I’ve been coming to this bar every week for who knows how long, and it’s always been $12! Where’s Phil the owner?”
“He’s upstairs with my wife.”
“Well, what’s he doing with your wife?”
“The same thing I’m doing to his business.”