IPP bidding scheduled for late 2013
Play
The Energy Regulatory Commission expects to open the bidding for six new power plants under the independent power producer (IPP) scheme late next year.
The ERC is in the process of selecting an adviser who will complete the bidding terms of reference (ToR), said Pallapa Ruangrong, a member of the commission. She said PricewaterhouseCoopers, which assisted the previous round of IPP bidding, might win the contract.
As the ToR may require 12 months to complete, the ERC expects the bidding to take place late 2013 at the earliest, she added.
“The bidding has been in focus for several power producers that want this to take place soon. However, the ERC believes that this should be thoroughly studied and the process must be well planned,” she said.
“Thailand’s domestic power demand, as forecast by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and Provincial Electricity Authority, should not spike soon, as export-oriented manufacturers have not yet fully recovered. Thus we still can wait. We need to see how to expedite the next round of bidding, to be in line with the future power demand.”
Initially, in this round, the locations of the power plants will not be predetermined. Bidders will be required to build the plants anywhere near the specified transmission grids.
Under the third revision of Power Development Plan 2010 (2010-2030), the six natural-gas-fired power plants, with 900 megawatts each or a combined capacity of 5,400MW, are scheduled to feed in power from 2020 onwards. It is estimated that the investment required for a gas-fired power plant is about US$2 million (Bt62 million) per megawatt.
Several power companies have demonstrated their readiness to join the bidding, including Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding and Electricity Generating – two affiliates of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat). PTT Group is also merging two power units – Thai Oil-owned Independent Power (Thailand) Co and PTT Global Chemical-owned PTT Utility Co – ahead of the bidding.
A source at the Energy Ministry said IRPC and Gulf JP had also dispatched officers to potential sites in their campaign to win local communities’ approval. Potential sites are mostly in the East, thanks to the proximity to the natural-gas pipeline and the transmission grids.
