Aboitiz Power still keen on Leyte geothermal plant

MANILA, Philippines - Aboitiz Power Corp. (APC) is still keen to bid for Unified Leyte Geothermal power plants (ULGPP) and Mindanao diesel barges, a top company official said.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. president and chief executive officer Erramon Aboitiz told reporters on the sidelines of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Aboitiz Foundation that their interest for assets being managed by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has not waned.

“We’re interested in the privatization of some of PSALM’s assets. In fact, we have registered for Unified Leyte. We also registered for the Mindanao diesel barges so yes we’re still open to privatization of PSALM assets,” Aboitiz said.

In 2011, Aboitiz had signified interest to join the bidding for Unified Leyte along with other firms such as San Miguel Corp. and First Gen Corp.

Aboitiz said they would create a new vehicle to handle their bid for Unified Leyte.

PSALM has set the bidding for ULGPP on Oct. 29, 2013.

ULGPP is composed of several geothermal units located in Tongonan, Leyte. These are the 125-MW Upper Mahiao, 232.5-MW Malitbog and 180-MW Mahanagdong power plants, and the 51-MW optimization plants.

PSALM president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said the ULGPP-IPPA (independent power producer administrators) sale structure encourages diversification in the market.

“This bid is not just limited to generation companies, given that even distribution utilities including electric cooperatives, and other interest groups can participate and win as well,” he said.

The ULGPP is covered by power purchase agreements between the National Power Corp. and the Energy Development Corp.