In the Terms of Reference (TOR) of FICELCO’s Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for a new power supplier, it provides that “(I)n case of RE plants, the energy resources should be available in Catanduanes and covered by valid RE Service Contract(s) between the winning NPP and DOE,”
This is one of the provisions that PBM Arnel Turado referred to in his privilege speech effectively giving advantage to an existing local power provider, obviously referring to SUWECO, which operates two Renewable Energy (RE) plants in Catanduanes notably the Hitoma I and Solong hydroelectric power plants.
The energy resources referred to are solar, hydropower, ocean energy, biomass or wind, which are available in the island province.
There is no question that SUWECO has an existing, valid RE Service Contract with the DOE covering the two hydropower plants in Caramoran and San Miguel.
Whether the other potential bidders have valid RE service contracts with DOE remains to be seen.
One has to check with the DOE website for the list of awarded RE projects which have been presumably approved by the agency, if there are other companies with valid RE service contracts with DOE with proposed projects in Catanduanes.
A check of the website shows that a total of 414 hydropower projects with a potential capacity of 15,108 megawatts have been submitted for approval and only 1,396 mW of the capacity is actually installed.
Of the 517 solar projects applied by proponents, only 2,421 mW of the proposed capacity of 36,410 mW is actually installed.
The same situation is evident in case of wind power applications, with less than 500 mW installed out of the 98,623 mW potential capacity from 291 proposed projects.
A year ago, the DOE announced that it would terminate the service contracts of 105 renewable energy (RE) projects due to non-compliance with project timelines.
Awarded in 2017 and 2018, the contracts were reportedly delayed due to reasons including failure to secure possessory rights or system impact studies (SIS) indicating inability to connect to the grid.
Out of the total 105 projects, 88 were either delayed in their pre-development timeline or not progressing at all. Among these 88 projects, 53 were solar, 17 were hydropower, 10 were wind, five were geothermal, and three were biomass.
For years now, companies proposing solar, wind and biomass power plants have been coming to the island to explore the possibility of setting up the plants here but nothing has come to fruition.
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Pursuant to the Invitation to Bid, the Pre-Bid Conference for the CSP is set this Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, with the deadline of submission and opening of bids a month later on Dec. 19, 2025.
The winning bidder will undergo post-qualification on Dec. 24 (Christmas eve), with the current board of holdover directors to approve the Power Supply Agreement on Jan. 3, 2026.
The vote will take place just a few weeks before majority of the FICELCO directors will stand for reelection or replacement in the deferred district elections.
Understandably, PBM Turado suspects the incumbent members of the board may seek certain “arrangements” with the post-qualified bidder.
This is why the board member as well as a consumer group has asked NEA to defer the CSP to a later date to allow consumers to choose a new set of directors to represent them in the FICELCO board.
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PARROTS FOR SALE. A man is selling three parrots. A guy who wants to buy a parrot approaches him and asks, “How much are your parrots?”
The salesman answers, “The first one is $1,000.”
“What does he know?”
“He knows 10,000 words and 500 sentences and is able to solve mathematical equations.”
“How about the second one?”
“The second parrot costs $5,000.”
“What does he know?”
“He knows 100,000 words and 10,000 sentences, is able to solve mathematical equations and can create compute programs.”
“Then what is the price for the third one?”
“This one costs $20,000.”
“Really?” says the excited buyer. “What does he know?”
“This one knows absolutely nothing but the two others always call him ‘Boss.’”