Aboitiz unit eyes bids for 2 hydro plants

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated April 28, 2016 - 12:00am

www.philstar.com/business/2016/04/28/1577414/aboitiz-unit-eyes-bids-2-hydro-plants

MANILA, Philippines – SN Aboitiz Power Group (SNAP) has expressed interest in the privatization of two government-owned hydropower assets scheduled in 2017.

SNAP executive vice president and COO Joseph Yu said the company will definitely be interested if and when government puts its hydropower assets up for sale, particularly the 728-megawatt Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) plant in Laguna and the 140-MW Casecnan multi-purpose plant in Nueva Ecija.

“We’ll be interested in both,” he said.

Participating in government’s privatization efforts is part of the company’s business mandate, SNAP vice president for corporate services Michael Hosillos said.

“Actually, the model for SNAP is to see what’s out there in terms of privatization and to be able to participate in any of due diligence processes to sort of find out if the remaining assets are attractive,” he said.

Earlier this year, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said it is undertaking a study on options for the sale of the CBK and Casecnan hydropower plants.

PSALM is the entity created by the EPIRA, the law that restructured the power industry by privatizing the government-owned assets under the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

Based on its target, the CBK hydropower facility is scheduled for bidding in 2017.

Currently, the plant is being operated by CBK Power Co. Ltd., whose IPP contract runs until Feb. 7, 2026.

Meanwhile, the privatization of the Casecnan facility is under review of the Department of Finance (DOF).

It is being operated by California Energy Casecnan Water and Energy Co. Inc.  under contract until April 5, 2022.

Other hydropower assets up for bidding include the 727.1-MW Agus hydroelectric facilities and the 255-MW Pulangi power plant, both in Mindanao.

SNAP is a joint venture between SN Power of Norway and Aboitiz Power Corp.

It owns and operates the 360-MW Magat  hydropower plant located at the border of Ramon, Isabela and Alfonso Lista, Ifugao, as well as the 105-MW Ambuklao hydro facility in Bokod and the 140-MW Binga hydroelectric plant in Itogon, both located in Benguet.