RP power industry left behind Asia neighbors
RP power industry left behind Asia neighbors
MANILA (AFP): Despite an increase of independent power producers in the Philippines, competition in the country's power industry is not developing as fast as those of its Asian neighbors, an economist said yesterday.
"The industry needs to be flexible before they can attract the capital and technology required to quickly expand their energy infrastructure," said Hui Ping Liew of the Institute of Sectoral Economics of the Center for Research and Communications.
Addressing energy executives attending an international conference on power production here, Hui said Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are in varying stages of privatization and capital generation for energy projects, while the Philippines is still in the planning stage.
Power generation is still largely under the control of the state-run National Power Corp. (NPC), which has yet to implement definitive plans to break its assets into different corporations in its planned privatization bid.
"To free up the generation so that it becomes a competitive environment is the point where (independent power producers) become more interested," Hui said.
The Philippines hopes to generate 20,000 megawatts of power in the next 10-to-15 years, she said, opening further the prospects for independent power producers.
The growth in power demand is placed at 10.6 percent per year until 1998, translating to an average of 735 megawatts over the next six years, which is expected to jump to 1,700 MW a year after 1998, she added.
NPC reports show over 30 power projects constructed with the help of foreign and local power producers have been completed or are under completion, while an additional 14 projects have been scheduled for bidding.
The power projects to be bid, among them a 1,200-MW plant using natural gas, are slated for commercial operation between 1996 and 2005.
While implementing rules and regulations for independent power producers were clear, large portions of the generation, transmission and distribution remained a "natural monopoly" by the government, Hui said.
At the same conference, Albert Dalusung, executive director of the private Energy Development and Utilization Foundation Inc., said the proliferation of build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects "perpetuate NPC dominance over power generation."
"There must be flexibility in how the mix is to be set, otherwise it will contradict the basic concepts of sector deregulation and privatization," he said.
He said BOT projects accounted for more than 3,000 MW of power projects, compared with 1,100 MW approved under the build-operate-own scheme, which were more consistent with power sector privatization.
Hui cited Malaysia's state-run Tenaga Nasional Bhd. which is publicly listed. Malaysia expects IPPs to provide more than 40 percent of its power generation needs, she added.
Singapore intends to privatize its gas and electricity groups this year and offer them to the public by 1996, while Thailand has successfully floated 48 percent of the state's Electricity Generating Co. last November 1994, she said.