ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/ 20April) – The Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) has requested the National Electric Administration (NEA) to review the recommendation of the Zamcelco Board for the purchase of 16 megawatts (MW) land-based generators.
In his letter to NEA Administrator Edita Bueno, Engr. George Ledesma, Zamcelco General Manager, cited four points for NEA to reconsider its earlier decision disapproving the Board’s resolution for the purchase of the generators.
These are: the entire package maybe “very expensive” but not overpriced; the installation of the generator sets is long overdue; the people of Zamboanga City have been suffering from daily power curtailment and “it is our mandate to urgently alleviate the sufferings of the people by providing additional power supply by using generators as short term solution; and that heir personnel “made the necessary study and due diligence.”
Ledesma said it is not clear what NEA’s basis was for saying “very expensive” when NEA itself “which is supposed to provide us does not have and cannot provide the necessary Approved Budget Cost (ABC) for the acquisition of the modular generators sets.
He said it is mind boggling to say that it is “very expensive” but not provide detailed explanations.
He said they submitted the result of the bidding including Board Resolution No. 40-series of 2014 to NEA last February and after more than a month “are now being ordered to conduct a rebidding for the acquisition of the modular generator sets.”
Zamcelco legal counsel Atty. Quirino Esguerra, Jr. made it clear that the cooperative does not ask for a rebidding or re-appeal of the decision of NEA Deputy Administrator for Electric Distribution Utilities Services Edgardo Piamont disapproving the Board resolution recommending the purchase of the 16-megawatt generators.
“We are asking NEA to review its decision, we are not going to re-appeal or conduct a rebidding,” Esguerra said.
Under the Terms of Reference, Esguerra said Camel JCB Corporation which won the bid has complied with 64 of 68 guidelines set by NEA while the losing bidder, the Lin Man Power Technology, Incorporated, only complied with 14.
He added that the Camel JCB Corporation has a warranty period while the other firm does not offer any warranty, hence the Bids and Awards Committee of Zamcelco recommended Camel JCB which sells generators made in the United Kingdom.
Zamcelco president Omar Sahi said the bid was awarded to Camel JCB Corporation because the company offer was much better than the lowest bidder in terms of quality and advantage to the cooperative.
Zamcelco is buying 16-MW land-based generators to reduce the number of hours of daily brownouts from four to six hours down to two hours or zero.
The area served by Zamcelco are experiencing four to six hours daily rotational brownout due to power generation deficit from the Mindanao Grid.
Zamcelco’s peak load demand is at least 80 MW but is only receiving from the Mindanao Grid of a little over 60 MW. (MindaNews)