First Gen still keen on major power assets

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez-controlled First Gen Corp. is still keen on bidding for three big ticket items to be auctioned off by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

First Gen president Francis Giles Puno said they are ready to participate in the privatization process for Casecnan, CBK (Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan) and Unified Leyte.

He said they are also eyeing several smaller assets in Mindanao.

“For PSALM’s privatization program, I think there are still a number of hydroelectric power plants – Casecnan, the ones in Mindanao, CBK, and then also the privatization of the IPPA (independent power producer administrator) for Unified Leyte,”he said.

CE Casecnan Water and Energy Co. Inc., owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., owns and operates a multi-purpose irrigation and hydroelectric power facility with a rated capacity of 150 megawatts in Nueva Ecija.

Meanwhile, CBK Power Co. Ltd. operates the Kalayaan Pump Storage Power Plant with an aggregate installed capacity of 300.6 MW in Kalayaan, Laguna; the Caliraya Hydroelectric Power Plant with an aggregate installed capacity of 35.02 MW located at Caliraya, Lumban, Laguna; and Botocan Hydroelectric Power Plant with an aggregate installed capacity of 21.995 MW in Botocan, Majayjay, Laguna.   

In 1998, the Nation Power Corp. (Napocor) and Argentine firm Industrias Metallurgicas Pescarmona Sociodad Anomie (IMPSA) entered into a build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer (BROT) agreement for a period of 25 years starting from the turnover date.

The Unified Leyte geothermal plants, on the other hand, include the 125-MW Upper Mahiao plant, 232-MW Malitbog and 180-MW Mahanagdong plants, and the 51-MW optimization plants. First Gen. unit Energy Development Corp. operates these steam plants.

But Puno said they would need to get a firm schedule from PSALM on the privatization of these assets and contracts.

“There are a number of hydroelectric power plants that are up for bidding. But we understand the schedule is not also very clear,” he said.

He said while they are waiting for the government to make up its mind on the privatization timeline of the remaining assets and contracts of Napocor, they would be focusing on the expansion of their existing investments.

“So in the meantime, in a way, we’re quite fortunate we’ve made investments in additional stakes in EDC (Energy Development Corp.), and so even if the bidding for those assets to be privatized is deferred, it’s also okay with us,” he said.

First Gen owns a majority stake in EDC, which was formerly 100-percent run by the government through the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC).

EDC is now the largest producer of geothermal power in the country and second largest in the world.