Petilla, Korean water to thresh out Angat deal

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla is meeting with the Korean company that won the bidding for the Angat hydropower plant but is currently negotiating to bring down the $440.88-million price tag on the facility.

Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) wants to lower the tab on the power plant, citing the state of the facility as well as several changes the Philippine government put in the agreements signed by both parties.

“I am meeting [them] to talk about some issues of Angat and how we can have a amicable settlement to make sure everybody is benefitting from it,” Petilla said.

The DOE chief said he is flying to Korea next week to negotiate an amicable solution to the problem.

“Because I am about to negotiate, I cannot tell you the details of what we are going to talk about, but what we are looking for is something beneficial to all parties involved,” Petilla said.

He said what the government wants is an acceptable solution to both parties.

“If you satisfy K-Water and you satisfy the government, it is a win-win situation. That’s what we are looking for,” he said.

K-Water won the bidding conducted in 2010 for the 218-megawatt plant, which sources its power from the Angat Dam in Bulacan.

But in a recent letter, K-Water said it wants to “achieve the same level of benefits expected” in its 2010 bid for the power plant and wants the plant’s auxiliary units four and five to be included in the takeover.

Petilla said the auxiliary units in question – owned by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) – are among the topics to be discussed in the meeting.

On the back of these complex issues, K-Water wants to reduce the purchase price of the facility.