THE THIRD ROUND of the Department of Energy’s (DoE) open and competitive selection process (OCSP3) was unsuccessful as firms did not bid for 18 geothermal and hydropower projects in pre-determined areas (PDA), according to an advisory posted on the department’s website on Friday.
Two geothermal and eight hydropower PDAs did not receive any bid applications. These were the geothermal projects in Itogon and Maricaban island, and the hydro projects in the east, middle west and upper west tributaries of Aklan River; the Vera Falls, Palali, Coyaoyao (upper cascade), Dapnan and Balintingon.
Meanwhile, eight PDAs received applications that were disqualified because the bidders did not submit the required documents. These were plants A and C of Amlan; the upper and lower cascade of the Hilabangan; the upper and lower cascade of the Maninila; Tibiao; and middle cascade of the Sibalom.
“Pursuant to…the OCSP3 guidelines, the OCSP, with respect to the foregoing PDAs, is declared a failure,” the DoE said in an advisory signed by Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi.
The PDAs are now open for direct applications which may be submitted to the department.
The OCSP3 opened up a total of 22 PDAs for bidders. However, in its advisory, the DoE did not give updates on the status of the Daklan, Puting Lupa and Mt. Labo geothermal projects, and the Dalanas hydro project.
The OCSP3 allowed for full foreign ownership of large-scale geothermal projects including Daklan, Puting Lupa and Mt. Labo, which had a total potential capacity of 74 megawatts, DoE Renewable Energy Management Bureau Director Mylene C. Capongcol earlier said. — A.Y. Yang