City moves to rebid Asin hydro facility

Thursday, February 16, 2012

THE City Government will move for the rebidding of the Asin mini-hydropower plants after the special bids and awards committee declared a bidding failure on the city property.

Without a copy of the report from the special bids and awards committee, Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the planned privatization of the Asin mini-hydro facility will push through after the bids and awards committee republishes its bidding invitations.

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This after the only bidder Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) failed to meet the Terms of Reference set by the committee led by its chairman city budget officer Leticia Clemente.

Clemente said the terms of reference clearly provide that bidders should be registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

Domogan in his weekly press conference Wednesday claimed Beneco through its General Manager Gerardo Versoza told him they already filed their motion for reconsideration to the committee.

In their motion for reconsideration, Beneco told the committee the terms of reference presented by the City Government is unfair, having been foreclosed whatever opportunity it had to prove its salt as a capable bidder the bidding itself.

The mayor also brought the issue to Clemente, claiming the terms of reference may be revised, saying the power firm may negotiate not as a cooperative but as a legal identity.

He said the registration of Beneco with the National Electrification Administration alone is proof it has legal personality.

The power firm said that if the goal of the City Government is to maximize the potential of the power plants, they have to set aside the temporary restraining order, claiming it is exclusionary and it contravenes the objective of canvassing, which is for government to obtain the best service.

The power firm, which already spent for a feasibility study, also emphasized having a CDA registration is not a guarantee the electric cooperative has technical and financial capability to operate the facility.

This was clearly shown, they said, when no other CDA-registered electric cooperative joined the bidding.