MANILA, Philippines - Henry Sy Jr., fondly called “Big Boy” in business circles, has been elected as the new president and chief executive officer of the country’s transmission highway, the National Grid Corporation of the Phils. (NGCP).
Sy Jr., the eldest son of shopping malls and banking magnet and SM founder Henry Sy Sr., replaced Roque Corpuz, former president of the National Transmission Corp. (Transco), the government entity created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to run and operate the transmission facilities of the government.
Sy Jr., is currently vice chairman and CEO of SM Development Corp., and vice chairman of SM Investments Corp. The SM group’s chain of malls, is one of the largest consumers of power in the country.
It will be recalled that One Taipan Holdings Corp., controlled by Sy Jr., bought out the group of Monte Oro Resources of businessman Enrique Razon at NGCP.
The NGCP consortium is composed of State Grid of China with 40 percent share as the foreign partner, Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. with 30 percent equity and Calaca High Power Corp. with 30 percent shareholdings as the local partners.
On Jan. 15, 2009, state-owned National Transmission Corp. (Transco) officially turned over the management and operation of its nationwide power transmission system to NGCP. The concession period is for 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.
One Taipan acquired 30 percent share of Monte Oro at NGCP at approximately $350 million.
In a statement, Sy Jr. said he will work closely with his partners to ensure that the company delivers on its commitment to provide transmission reliability and efficiency anchored on continuously improving its facilities and keeping the NGCP workforce highly motivated.
NGCP will prioritize the preparation of a long-term master plan to develop a contiguous national grid that will connect all the major islands in the country with the assistance of the State Grid of China.
Sy Jr. said, “NGCP’s ability to provide a reliable and cost-effective transmission facility and services will directly redound to the benefit of various industries and the Filipino masses.”
The company will also look at initiatives to attract the best talents. “As a former government corporation, we will also propose some salary adjustments in order to attract and keep the best engineers,” he said.
NGCP also hopes to work closely with all the industry stakeholders including the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) in order to alert them of any power supply deficiencies in the grid.
“In providing sufficient and timely information about the tight supply and demand condition, we hope the government will be able to implement measures that will encourage future investments in generation to avert any protracted brownouts which is not good for business,” he said.