The National Electrification Administration (NEA)) on Oct. 4 approved the Benguet Electric Cooperative’s terms of reference for the procurement of a new power supply contract that will ensure the availability of power for the electric cooperative’s consumers when its current supply contract with Team Sual Corp. will expire in March 2024.
The approval means BENECO can now proceed to publish the invitation to bid and the terms of reference for its 73-megawatt power requirement which publication the NEA said must be accomplished within the next 45 calendar days from Oct. 4.
Antonio Mariano Almeda, NEA administrator, wrote the electric cooperative, through lawyer Delmar Carino, acting general manager, that the bidding for power supply must strictly adhere to the rules of the competitive selection process (CSP) issued by the Department of Energy (Doe).
The CSP provides a set of rules on power bidding for all the country’s electric cooperatives and distribution utilities to ensure the execution of a power supply contract that guarantees the reliability of energy services in the least cost manner.
“We will immediately comply since we are also pressed for time. With the TOR’s approval, the third-party bids and awards committee (TPBAC) we created specifically for power supply will now be ready to roll out the instruction to bidders once we are done with the publication,” Carino said.
The winning bidder will supply power until 2028.
The NEA gave its nod to BENECO’s resolution no. 2023-206 defining the terms of reference which the BENECO task force or interim board of directors passed in September this year.
The said NEA approval is also the regulator’s notice for the electric cooperative to proceed with its bid process.
The NEA reminded BENECO that the CSP must be conducted pursuant to rules and regulations issued both by Doe and NEA. “Should there be changes, deviations or revisions in the CSP plans and timelines, both agencies must be informed immediately,” the NEA said.
BENECO was also required to post the terms of reference, instruction to bidders and competitive selection process schedule in the NEA and DOE websites aside from the publication in a newspaper of national circulation.
The TPBAC, which includes members from the captive market consumers of BENECO, will handle the bid process.
