RP Energy signs contracts for coal-fired plant

Posted on October 18, 2016
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=rp-energy-signs-contracts-for-coal-fired-plant&id=135033

REDONDO PENINSULA Energy, Inc. (RP Energy), a company co-owned by a unit of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), has signed construction and supply contracts with two companies, the distribution utility told the stock exchange Monday.

Aboitiz Power Corp., whose unit Therma Power, Inc. owns 25% of RP Energy, made the same disclosure. Another 25% of the firm is held by Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp. Meralco subsidiary Meralco PowerGen Corp. holds 47% of the project.

The construction contract was signed with Azul Torre Construction, Inc. while the supply contract was with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd. The contracts are for the construction of the partners’ two-unit coal-fired power plant each with a capacity of 300 megawatts. It will be built on Redondo Peninsula, Subic Bay.

“I think we’ll break ground maybe in January,” said Antonio R. Moraza, president and chief operating officer of AboitizPower.

The 600-MW power plant is expected to go online by mid-2020 on Sitio Naglatore, Cawag, Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

“It’s really line dependent,” Mr. Moraza said. “If the transmission line is available, then we’ll go 300 [MW], then we’ll build the succeeding 300 [MW].”

Based on data from the Department of Energy (DoE), the project will cost P1.2 billion or around P50 billion.

Meralco plans to source 225 MW of its baseload requirements from RP Energy. The power supply agreement it has applied for is one of seven it filed with the regulator based on its long-term load projections. The utility expects electricity sales in its service area to grow by a compounded average rate of 3.6% to 3.7%

On Monday, shares in Meralco declined by 2.48% to P283.20 per share, while those of AboitizPower rose by 0.33% to P45.80 a share.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. -- Victor V. Saulon