Business World Online
Posted on September 12, 2014 07:10:00 PM
ABOITIZ Power Corp. (AboitizPower) has expressed interest in power projects that have yet to be privatized by the government, an official told reporters on Thursday night.
“We tend to look at all the power biddings, try to understand them and decide if we want to participate,” Erramon I. Aboitiz, AboitizPower chief executive officer, said on the sidelines of a company event in Makati City.
Currently on the company’s radar are the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) contracts for three assets that will be soon privatized by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).
“So we have the Unified Leyte bulk energy. Right now we are studying the Mt. Apo IPPA,” Mr. Aboitiz said.
“I think part of the schedule of PSALM is also to do the STEAG IPPA. We will look at that also,” he added.
PSALM plans to bid out the IPPA for the remaining capacity of the Unified Leyte geothermal power plant (ULGPP) by the first quarter of next year.
The contract was first auctioned off in November last year but the winning bidder -- Unified Leyte Geothermal Energy, Inc. -- withdrew its bid, citing the damage to the plant from typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan).
Some 200 megawatts (MW) of ULGPP was already awarded to seven companies, which won rights over capacities ranging between 3 MW and 40 MW.
Aboitiz subsidiary Aboitiz Energy Solutions, Inc., also bagged the contract to manage some 40 MW of the plant’s output.
The ULGPP complex -- which straddles Ormoc City and municipality of Kananga -- is composed of the 125-MW Upper Mahiao plant; 232.5-MW Malitbog plant; 180-MW Mahanagdong plant; and 51-MW optimization plants.
On Sept. 26, PSALM is also set to conduct an auction for the IPPA selection of the Mt. Apo 1 and 2 geothermal power plants.
Each of the power plants has a capacity of 54.24 MW.
Located in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, the power plants were commissioned on Feb. 15, 1997 and June 17, 1999 under a build-operate-and-own contract with Energy Development Corp.
Meanwhile, the 210-MW STEAG coal-fired power plant is operated by STEAG State Power, Inc. under a 25-year build-operate-transfer scheme with National Power Corp. (Napocor).
The plant currently supplies more than a fifth of Mindanao’s power supply requirements.
A schedule of the privatization of STEAG’s contracted capacity has yet to be determined.
PSALM was formed under Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to assume ownership of and manage all Napocor’s assets, liabilities, contracts with independent power producers, real estate and other disposable assets.
AboitizPower is the power generation and distribution arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. -- the listed holding firm of Aboitiz-owned businesses, which also include companies engaged in real estate, food and banking. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano source
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