KUALA LUMPUR: National power provider Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and a consortium of Pendekar Power Sdn Bhd and Mitsui & Co Ltd are said to have put in the lowest bids for the new Prai combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant, according to industry executives close to the deal.
The bidding closed on July 16. Pendekar Power comes under the umbrella of Powertek Bhd, whose parent Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd was recently bought over by 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Although the exact tariffs submitted by all eight shortlisted bidders are not known, the range is said to fall between 35 sen and 40 sen per kWh. “However, it should be kept in mind that a low tariff does not necessarily mean they are a shoo-in to get the project.
The Energy Commission will have a list of criteria to meet, and will evaluate each bid on its merits, enough to warrant an apple-to-apple comparison,” said the executive. It should also be noted that the capacity of the Prai CCGT has not yet been determined, only that it will range between 1,000MW and 1,400MW according to previously published reports.
And the price of the gas as stated in the tender documents is RM42, close to the current market price, compared with the current subsidised price of RM13.70. The eight shortlisted bidders for the Prai CCGT comprise four consortia and four single bidders.
Aside from Pendekar-Mitsui, the other consortia are CI Holdings Bhd, Teknologi Tenaga Perlis Consortium Sdn Bhd and Daelim Industrial Co Ltd, Malakoff Corp Bhd, Petronas Power Sdn Bhd and Mitsubishi Corp, and YTL Power International Bhd and Marubeni Corp. The individual companies in the running are Amcorp Power Sdn Bhd, Genting’s wholly owned unit Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd, Sime Darby Power Sdn Bhd and TNB.
The Energy Commission is expected to announce its decision in October. Although the tender for the new plant is now closed, there is still another tender ongoing for the extension of the first generation independent power producers (IPPs) that are due to expire from 2016 onwards.
That tender is due to close on July 30, with the announcement on whether any of them qualify for the extension to be disclosed in September, according to reports. For this round of restricted bidding, there are six shortlisted bidders.
Aside from TNB, the other companies are Powertek, Genting Sanyen Power Sdn Bhd, YTL Power Generation Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd unit Port Dickson Power Bhd and Malakoff Corp Bhd’s Segari Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd. All of them are governed by first generation power purchase agreements (PPAs) with lucrative rates.
However, it is possible none of the first generation IPPs or TNB will see their PPAs extended if the rates are not competitive enough in the re-negotiation process.
Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohd Noh, the former CEO of TNB, has been quoted as saying that only half of those in the running would probably see an extension to their PPAs. The six players have a total capacity of 6,320MW.
It has been learned that if the six bidders currently in the running to extend their first generation PPAs are successful, the rate being bandied about is RM6 per kWh per month. In the previous contracts, the rates for the IPPs ranged between RM35 and RM50 per kWh per month.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 18, 2012.