TeaM Energy ready to expand beyond Luzon

By Lenie Lectura - June 4, 2018

https://businessmirror.com.ph/team-energy-ready-to-expand-beyond-luzon/

TEAM Energy Corp., a partnership between Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Marubeni Corp., is open to expanding its power portfolio outside of Luzon.

“We will be open to the Visayas and certain parts of Mindanao,” TeaM Energy President John Alcordo said. The company is one of the largest independent power producers in the country, with over 2,000 megawatts of installed generating capacity. It owns and operates the 1,200-MW Sual plant in Pangasinan and the 735-MW Pagbilao plant in Quezon. A third unit (420 MW) of the Pagbilao plant, which was inaugurated last week, was put up by TeaM Energy and Therma Power Inc. of the Aboitiz group.

The company also owns a 20-percent stake in the 1,200-MW Ilijan gas-fired power plant in Batangas.  

Alcordo said the company is looking at initially adding 100 MW to 300 MW of new capacity, including renewable-energy (RE) sources.

“Right now, it’s very preliminary…They vary in size anywhere from 100 MW to 300 MW. We’re open to RE, like hydro and baseload. We will also see how LNG shapes up over the next few years.”

With no firm plans at the moment, TeaM Energy is certain it will continue to look for opportunities. “We are fortunate we have shareholders we don’t need to convince. It’s just a matter of finding the right opportunity,” Alcordo added. “If there are any acquisitions, joint ventures, greenfield opportunities, we’ll be on the lookout for those.”

Marubeni Corp. is also one of the owners of San Roque Power Corp., which operates the 345-MW San Roque Multipurpose project.

“One of our shareholders, Marubeni, owns San Roque. So, yes, hydro would be something they would be open to. RE is also something we’re keen to expand,” he said. Alcordo added last week that Pagbilao unit 3 is expected to generate billions of pesos in revenue for the national and local governments in the coming years.

“The growth of the Philippine economy under the administration of President Duterte will certainly translate to a rising demand for energy in the coming years. This project will help address the country’s development needs moving forward,” he said.

“These funds will enable the government to pursue development programs and uplift lives. This is on top of Pagbilao Energy Corp.’s [PEC] commitment to work with our host communities in implementing high-impact corporate social responsibility programs to complement the government’s development initiatives,” Alcordo added.

Since it is a coal-fired power facility, Alcordo said the plant is equipped with a flue-gas desulfurizer and is designed to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. The newly built power facility was developed and constructed at a cost of $976 million.

To finance the massive project, the PEC signed an agreement for up to P33.3 billion in debt financing through the joint lead arrangers composed of BDO Capital and Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp.

SB Capital Investment Corp. serves as colead arranger for the project while PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and China Banking Corp. are coarrangers. Philippine Savings Bank also participated as a lender to the project.