Aboitiz, partners form new company to sell power

MANILA, Philippines - Aboitiz Power Corp. together with partners  Manila Oslo Renewable Enterprise and SN Power Holding Singapore Pte. Ltd. formed a new company that will primarily engage in the business of a retail energy supplier and energy consolidator.

The new company, SN Aboitiz Power-Res Inc. was granted a business permit by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It has an initial authorized capital stock of P1 million, P250,000 of which has been paid up.

SN Aboitiz Power-Res shall sell and market electricity to end-users and purchase and sell hedging instruments for electricity, fuel, currency, and weather.

The consortium won the auction for the 175-megawatt Ambuklao-Binga hydropower facility with a bid of $325 million, edging out Calaca Power Partners Co. Ltd., which posted a bid of $305.5 million. The third pre-qualified bidder for the plant package, First Gen Corp. of the Lopez group, backed out.

In 2006, the group won the bidding for 360-megawatt Magat hydropower plant. Beating the $420.9-million offer of Lopez-led First Gen Corp., SN Aboitiz Power bought the hydropower plant for $530 million.

SN Power is an industrial investor in power generation in emerging markets like the Philippines and currently owns power plants in Chile, Peru, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.  It is 50-percent owned by Statkraft, the Norwegian state utility that owns a total power production of 42 TWh and is the third largest producer of power in the Nordic region, as well as the second largest producer of power based on renewable energy sources in Europe.

The other 50 percent is owned by Norfund, the Norwegian financial institution managing the development fund for developing countries.

The Aboitiz Group has been involved in the Philippine electricity industry since the 1930s. Today, it has consolidated its electricity interests into a wholly-owned subsidiary called Aboitiz Power.

Among the companies under Aboitiz Power’s wing are Davao Light and Power Company, Inc.; Cotabato Light and Power Co., Inc. ; Visayan Electric Co.; San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co.; Subic Enerzone Corp.; Philippine HydroPower Corporation; Hedcor, Inc.; Luzon Hydro Corp.; SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet, Inc.; SN Aboitiz Power-Magat, Inc.; Southern Philippine Power Corp.; and, Western Mindanao Power Corp.