DOE scraps coal bid, plans rebid in weeks as Semirara contract nears expiry

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‘We’ll rebid in a few weeks. New rules, new bidding,’ Energy Secretary Sharon Garin tells Rappler as Semirara’s contract nears its July 2027 expiry

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) scrapped its 2026 coal bid round but plans to launch a new auction within weeks, resetting the race for the country’s biggest coal-producing area less than a year before the existing contract of Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) expires.

In an advisory on Tuesday, September 15, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin terminated the bidding covering three pre-determined areas offered for development and production coal operating contracts.

The DOE cited concerns raised during pre-submission conferences, as well as developments affecting Semirara Island in Antique province, including “continuing water seepage” and unspecified “legal considerations.”

“We’ll rebid in a few weeks,” Garin told Rappler when asked whether terminating the auction this close to SMPC’s contract expiration could make it harder for another operator to prepare for a takeover.

“New rules, new bidding,” she added on Thursday, September 17.

In its advisory, the department said the termination would allow it to develop a “fair, equitable, transparent, and comprehensive evaluation framework,” particularly for areas with confirmed or established coal reserves.

The most consequential part of the aborted auction involves 10 coal blocks on Semirara Island currently operated by Consunji-led SMPC. Its Coal Operating Contract No. 5 expires on July 14, 2027, after the government rejected the company’s bid to extend its decades-long tenure and instead decided to open the area to competition.

The auction has already faced repeated delays. In July, Garin said changes to the bidding rules could be finished within “a few weeks,” according to a BusinessMirror report. 

SMPC has also challenged parts of the bidding process in court. In July, it sought protection from DOE demands for detailed asset inventories and proprietary technical information intended to be made available to prospective bidders. – Rappler.com