Marubeni to join bid for Sual, Pagbilao power plant contracts

MANILA, Philippines - Japanese power giant Marubeni Corp. will participate in the bidding for the independent power producer administrators (IPPA) for 700 megawatt (MW) Pagbilao and 1,000 MW Sual coal-fired power plants, informed sources told reporters over the weekend.

The same sources said this may be the reason why TeaM Energy which runs and manages the two power facilities opted not to submit its letter of interest to join the bidding.

Earlier, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) president Jose Ibazeta disclosed that TeaM Energy, owned by Marubeni and Tokyo Electric Power Corp. (Tepco), did not express interest to join the IPPA bidding for Suala nd Pagbilao.

But Ibazeta said one of the stockholders in TeaM Energy “may join”.

“They (Team Energy) did not for whatever reason. Though, I’ve not seen the TeaM Energy name, I’m not sure if they might be behind somebody else. That’s (TeaM Energy’s) their prerogative. There are about eight or nine IPPs, perhaps some people are waiting for the better item to put in their portfolio,” Ibazeta said.

The industry source said Marubeni has been a long time investor in the power industry.

Marubeni has investments in 27 generators in 20 different countries in Europe and the Middle East. It also has investments in the United States, Australia and other Asian countries. It is a major general trading house in Japan. It has been in business in the Philippines for almost a hundred years and has investments in power, telecommunications, construction, industrial parks, food processing and general merchandise.

Early this year, Marubeni has also entered into an agreement with Lopez-controlled First Gen Corp. to “seriously consider” investing up to 40 percent in Red Vulcan Holdings Corp., majority owned of the Energy Development Corp.

According to the source, this may be an investment strategy on the part of the Japanese investors.

“Tepco did not bid because they are not very familiar with the Philippines unlike Marubeni which has been a long term investor in the Philippines,” the source said.

Tepco and Marubeni acquired the assets of Mirant Corp. in the Philippines in 2007, which included the Pagbilao and Sual plants.

Pagbilao and Sual power supply contract will be the first batch of IPP contracts that would be put on the auction block by PSALM on May 27 this year.

“There are quite a lot of documents and clearances that had to be addressed and secured. We want to make sure that this is the first bid that’s going to be successful,” Ibazeta said last week.

Ibazeta declined to give the identities of the interested bidders for the two power plants. But industry sources said Marubeni is part of the list of PSALM that will bid for Sual and Pagbilao.

“The Sual and Pagbilao bidding is all ready and there are about three or four investors who have expressed interest,” he said.