Meralco, Metrobank Group joining forces for power projects

MANILA, Philippines - Meralco Power Generation Corp. the electricity producing unit of Manila Electric Co., is exploring the possibility of joining forces with Global Business Power Corp. (GBP) of the Metrobank Group for future power generation projects, a top Meralco official said.

Meralco chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, in a chance interview during the 50th anniversary celebration of Metrobank, said they continue to discuss opportunities in the power industry.

“We are talking to a lot of people who may be our partners on the power generation side ... Metrobank’s (GBP) is one of those (we are eyeing),” he said.

Meralco president Oscar Reyes, for his part, said they are in “exploratory talks with GBP.”

He said they could partner with GBP in power projects in Luzon and Mindanao where there would be a need for additional power in the next few years.

But both Pangilinan and Reyes said they could not quantify yet the amount of investments they would be pour in once they decide to boost their power generation portfolio.

“I don’t know the extent of investment... but we are looking at a full range of projects,” Pangilinan said.

GBP earlier indicated that it plans to build around 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power capacity in the next three to five years to help augment electricity needs in Luzon.

It said it is also looking at further expanding its presence in Visayas, which has been experiencing power outages due to a lack of generation capacity to meet both the demand and reserve requirements needed by the grid.

GBP currently has 633 MW of capacity in Visayas from nine power plants and another 164 MW are under construction.

On the other hand, Meralco Powergen is looking at an installed power generation capacity of 2,500 MW until 2020.