NPC increasing generation rates to hasten sale?

ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews/31 August) – Various sectors here including city officials have cried foul over the alleged “internal collusion” behind the plan to increase the generation rates of the National Power Corporation, now the Generation Corporation (GenCo) to reportedly make the firm attractive to bidders in a bid to hasten the deregulation of the country’s power industry.

The Agus and Pulangi hydro complexes will be sold by 2011 based on the Electric Power Industry Reform Act under the discretion of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation in consultation with Congress, said Melchora Ambalong of Lanao Power Consumers Federation (Lapocof).

PSALM Corp. which is tasked to sell 70% of the state-owned power firm’s assets by the end of the year “to fully deregulate the power industry and ease government burden brought by NPCs debts, has been ordered by Malacanang to complete the sale of assets to bring about true competition and lower rates.”

Lapocof suspected that there is an internal collusion to increase generation rates to make it attractive to bidders “for expected return of investment” if purchased. [More]