THE Department of Energy (DoE) has allowed three geothermal companies to proceed to the next stage of the open and competitive selection process round three (OCSP3), after declaring the applicants to be compliant with all requirements at the opening of bids Monday.

The three bidders declared eligible are Energy Development Corp. (EDC), Philippine Geothermal Production Company, Inc. (PGPC) and Mase Power Corp. (MPC), after receiving 13 applications for 11 Predetermined Areas (PDAs), out of the 22 PDAs offered under the OCSP3.

The OCSP3 selection and bidding process was launched last month, requiring applicants to submit, among other items, a work program and their technical and financial qualifications. The three will undergo further document evaluation until March 2.

EDC submitted bids for the 27-megawatt (MW) Daklan geothermal project, and 17-MW Puting Lupa geothermal project. PGPC submitted bids for Daklan and the 30-MW Mount Labo Geothermal projects; and MPC submitted a bid for the 17-MW Puting Lupa project.

“Three of five predetermined areas (for geothermal projects) have received a proposal,” Director of the DoE’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) Mylene C. Capongcol said during the opening of OCSP3 bids. She said the PDAs containing the sites of the prospective 9 MW Itogon and 4-MW Maricaban Island geothermal projects received no bids.

In a statement Tuesday, the DoE said that “all geothermal applications had complete documentary requirements.”

On Monday, the DoE announced that no bidders have been qualified for its OCSP3 hydropower projects, due to failure to comply with documentary requirements.

Total Power, Inc. (TPI) and Century Peak Energy Corp. (CPEC) submitted eight proposals for various hydro projects, but were not allowed to move on to the next stage of the bidding, pending submission of documents required by the DoE.

TPI submitted bids for the Plants A (3.2 MW) and C (0.8 MW) of the Amlan Hydroelectric power project, and the 2.1-MW Tibao project.

CPEC applied for the upper (4.8 MW) and lower (3 MW) cascade of Hilabangans; the upper (4.5 MW) and lower cascade (3.1 MW) of Maninila; and the middle cascade (4 MW) of the Sibalom hydro project.

According to the DoE, all applicants have until Feb. 18 to file motions for reconsideration.

During the opening of bids, Ms. Capongcol said there were no bidders for the 3 MW Dalanas, the 3 MW Aklan River Lower East Tributary, the 2.4 MW Aklan River Middle West Tributary, the 2.4 MW Aklan River Upper West Tributary, the 0.3 MW Vera Falls, the 0.2 MW Palali, the 0.2 MW Coyaoyao Upper Cascade, the 1.4 MW Dapnan, and the 52-MW Balintingon projects.

In a timeline released last month, the DoE said that it aimed to complete the legal, technical and financial evaluation of documents by March 2, and obtain the Secretary of Energy’s approval for the results by March 16. It added that it plans to award the contracts for OCSP3 projects by April 14. — Angelica Y. Yang

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