Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Meralco eyeing coal plant

Manila Standard Today
by Ian Sayson
Semirara Mining Corp., the largest coal producer, is in talks with Manila Electric Co. for a possible power-generation investment, Semirara director Herbert Consunji said. Shares in the two companies rose.
Meralco, the largest power retailer, may invest in a venture to expand Semirara’s Calaca power plant by 600 megawatts, Consunji said in a phone interview Monday. That would double the existing capacity of the plant, which is located in Batangas province south of Manila.
“Manila Electric is interested but whether it pushes through or not is another matter,” Consunji said. “We want the plant to be upgraded soon.”
Philippine electricity producers including Aboitiz Power Corp. and First Gen Corp. are expanding capacity amid concerns of an electricity supply shortage. The nation will require 16,500 megawatts in new capacity from 2010 to 2030 and only 4,315 megawatts have been committed by companies, Jesus Tamang, director of the country’s energy policy and planning bureau, said on Dec. 15.
Meralco president Manuel Pangilinan told reporters the company is in talks with Semirara about an investment in power generation. The company, known as Meralco, was in discussions with potential partners, Joe Zaldarriaga, a spokesman, said on March 25.
Meralco plans to spend $2 billion to $2.3 billion for an estimated 1,500 megawatts of power-generating capacity it plans to put up from 2012 to 2016, chief operating officer Oscar Reyes said on Feb. 28. The utility is in talks with banks to help finance a P6.5-billion power plant, chief financial officer Betty Siy-Yap also said at the time.
The company’s shares advanced 3.8 percent to P258, the highest level since Jan. 26, at the noon close. Semirara gained 2.3 percent to P227.
“Meralco is in a good position in these talks because it distributes most of the power used in the main island of Luzon so whoever it partners with can get a guaranteed contract assuring high plant utilization,” said Paul Jeffrey Lu, an analyst at Manila-based CitisecOnline.com Inc. “The two companies make a good fit.”
Semirara sells coal to the Calaca plant, which parent DMCI Holdings Inc. acquired in a government auction in July 2009. DMCI is a partner of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which owns Meralco stock, in a water venture. Bloomberg

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