Business World Online
Posted on 09:46 PM, October 13, 2010
ABOITIZ POWER Corp. wants to put up new hydropower plants and bid for three state units to raise energy output to as much as 5,510 megawatts (MW), more than double current capacity.
The company, with a market value of $4.2 billion, is looking to expand its generating capacity in anticipation of an increase in demand for energy as the government targets growth of 7% to 8% annually starting in 2011, its president said.
Growth above 7.1% would be the fastest in 35 years.
The increase in Aboitiz Power’s capacity may not all come from renewable sources, even if these comprise 48% of its current portfolio, largely due to the high investment cost attached to renewable energy.
“Demand for energy in the country is growing very fast,” Erramon I. Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer of Aboitiz Power, told the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit.
“This year, our growth [in kilowatt-hour sales] was over 7% because our residential [sales] growth was very strong and then we had a rebound of our industrial sector,” he said.
Aboitiz Power expects the company’s generation portfolio to increase to about 2,900 MW by the end of 2011 from 2,700 MW at present.
The firm, majority owned by conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., was planning to put up several small hydro plants over the next few years, with three facilities expected to start generating at least 20 MW by next year, Mr. Aboitiz said. The group wants to hike hydropower output by 250 MW.
Aboitiz Power is planning to raise the output of its 360-MW Magat hydro plant in northern Philippines by 90 MW, and rehabilitate the 400-MW Tiwi-Makban geothermal plant to boost its capacity to close to 500 MW.
It has also lined up several greenfield projects, including a 300-MW coal-fired plant in Subic northwest of the capital and a 200-MW coal-fired plant in Davao.
Mr. Aboitiz said the company plans to bid for three state facilities to be auctioned off by the government -- the Unified Leyte geothermal facilities with a combined capacity of at least 700 MW, the CBK pump storage facility with a capacity of about 600 MW, and the hydro plants in Mindanao with a capacity of about 700 MW.
About 48% of the firm’s capacity comes from renewable energy sources such as hydro and geothermal, with the rest coming from non-renewable sources such as coal and oil.
But the company’s generation mix is expected to tilt to more non-renewable energy due to the high cost of investments required in renewable energy projects, which results in more expensive electricity for end-users, Mr. Aboitiz said.
First-half net profit at Aboitiz Power, which accounts for more than 80% of parent Aboitiz Equity’s total earnings, jumped nearly sevenfold to P12.7 billion from a year earlier on acquisitions. -- Reuters
Growth above 7.1% would be the fastest in 35 years.
The increase in Aboitiz Power’s capacity may not all come from renewable sources, even if these comprise 48% of its current portfolio, largely due to the high investment cost attached to renewable energy.
“Demand for energy in the country is growing very fast,” Erramon I. Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer of Aboitiz Power, told the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit.
“This year, our growth [in kilowatt-hour sales] was over 7% because our residential [sales] growth was very strong and then we had a rebound of our industrial sector,” he said.
Aboitiz Power expects the company’s generation portfolio to increase to about 2,900 MW by the end of 2011 from 2,700 MW at present.
The firm, majority owned by conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., was planning to put up several small hydro plants over the next few years, with three facilities expected to start generating at least 20 MW by next year, Mr. Aboitiz said. The group wants to hike hydropower output by 250 MW.
Aboitiz Power is planning to raise the output of its 360-MW Magat hydro plant in northern Philippines by 90 MW, and rehabilitate the 400-MW Tiwi-Makban geothermal plant to boost its capacity to close to 500 MW.
It has also lined up several greenfield projects, including a 300-MW coal-fired plant in Subic northwest of the capital and a 200-MW coal-fired plant in Davao.
Mr. Aboitiz said the company plans to bid for three state facilities to be auctioned off by the government -- the Unified Leyte geothermal facilities with a combined capacity of at least 700 MW, the CBK pump storage facility with a capacity of about 600 MW, and the hydro plants in Mindanao with a capacity of about 700 MW.
About 48% of the firm’s capacity comes from renewable energy sources such as hydro and geothermal, with the rest coming from non-renewable sources such as coal and oil.
But the company’s generation mix is expected to tilt to more non-renewable energy due to the high cost of investments required in renewable energy projects, which results in more expensive electricity for end-users, Mr. Aboitiz said.
First-half net profit at Aboitiz Power, which accounts for more than 80% of parent Aboitiz Equity’s total earnings, jumped nearly sevenfold to P12.7 billion from a year earlier on acquisitions. -- Reuters
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