Meralco partners with Thai power firm

MANILA, Philippines - After months of negotiations, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. (EGCO) of Thailand have agreed to jointly develop a 460-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Quezon.

Meralco, the country’s biggest power distributor, told to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday that it has authorized its power generation subsidiary Meralco PowerGen to partner with EGCO.

Meralco said its board of directors has approved a resolution authorizing “Meralco PowerGen Corp. to execute a joint development agreement and other related agreements with Electricity Generating Public Company Ltd. (EGCO) for the new 460-MW super critical coal-fired power plant of the Quezon Power Project in Mauban, Quezon.”

EGCO, which controls 98 percent of Quezon Power, is eyeing to complete the 460-MW expansion by 2016 or early 2017.

The Quezon Power project, which operates an existing 460-MW coal-fired plant, started commercial operations in May 2000 and provides electricity to the Luzon grid under a 25-year power sales agreement with Meralco.

EGCO is the first independent power producer in Thailand. It has 16 operating plants with total installed capacity of 4,444 MW in Thailand.

EGCO’s agreement with Meralco for a new coal-fired power plant comes after it divested last month its stake in a joint venture project with Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. of the Alcantara Group to pursue other investment opportunities in the Philippines.

In its announcement to the Thailand Stock Exchange, EGCO International Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of EGCO, said it divested its 40 percent stake in Conal Holdings Corp., its joint venture with Alsons Consolidated Resources.

Alsons, which holds a 60 percent stake in the holding company, acquired EGCO’s 40 percent stake, bringing its stake in the power holding company to 100 percent.