SMC power unit eyes more Napocor assets in Vis-Min

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp., the power generation arm of highly-diversified San Miguel Corp., remains keen on bidding for more National Power Corp. (Napocor) assets despite an earlier plan to divest shares in the power firms it had acquired.

San Miguel Global president and COO Alan Ortiz said while the company may not be able to expand its capacity in Luzon, where it has already reached the market cap, there is still room to acquire assets in Visayas and Min-danao.

“Not for Luzon, we’ve already reached 29 percent,” he said, adding that they are eyeing Visayas and Mindanao. “We have 3,100 megawatts from the existing. That’s our entire portfolio.”

San Miguel is now the country’s biggest power player in terms of control.

Its portfolio includes the 620-MW Limay combined cycle power plant in Bataan. It also manages the contracts of the 1,000-MW Sual coal-fired power plant, 345-MW San Roque multi-purpose hydro plant and the 1,294-MW Ilijan natural gas power plant.

But Ortiz said they are still eyeing assets to be offered by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) based in Visayas and Mindanao.

“We’re joining the bid for all the remaining generating assets and contracted capacities,” he said.

PSALM is set to bid out the contracted capacity of the Naga power plant complex in Cebu on Oct. 10.

Early this week, PSALM said interested investors can start their due diligence for the Naga power assets on July 22.

The contracted capacity of the Naga power plant complex is composed of the 50-MW megawatt Cebu Thermal Power Plant 1, 56.8-MW Cebu Thermal Power Plant 2 and the 39-MW Cebu Diesel Power Plant.

Ortiz said they may also bid for the contracts of the 640-MW Unified Leyte geothermal power facilities.

The Unified Leyte bidding will cover the contracts of the geothermal plants which include the 125-MW Upper Mahiao plant, 232-MW Malitbog and 180-MW Mahanagdong plants and the 51-MW Optimization plants.

“We have no exposure in the Visayas... (But) we will bid and that’s as far as I can say,” he said.

On the planned divestment of shares in acquired Napocor assets, Ortiz said “by divesting, we could raise funds and get good partners and acquire new technologies.”