The bidding for the 650-megawatt Malaya thermal power plant in Pililla, Rizal may be pushed back as the Energy Department wants the bidders to convert the plant into a liquefied natural gas facility, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said over the weekend.
“So that we will not lose power of about 600 MW and we want to have available capacity so we said part of the condition is to convert it [Malaya] to LNG power plant,” Cusi told reporters.
Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. earlier set the bidding for the Malaya facility on March 8, with four companies expressing interest to join the auction.
Cusi, who sits as a co-chair of PSALM, said the winning bidder should be “willing to convert it to a more superior technology that would qualify as baseload source like LNG.”
“LNG can be easily converted from diesel…We have to study the legalities,” the energy chief said. Cusi said PSALM was now studying the proposal.
“If we have to rebid it because of that reason, I think it would be better if we rebid,” Cusi said.