ACEN sells diesel power barge

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN, the listed power platform of the Ayala group, sold its remaining diesel-fired power barge to MORE Power Barge Inc.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, ACEN said it signed an asset purchase agreement with MORE Power for the sale of Power Barge (PB) 101.

“Closing of the sale is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, subject to satisfaction of agreed conditions precedent, which include applicable regulatory approvals,” the company said.

Located in Barangay Obrero, Iloilo City, PB 101 is a 4x8-megawatt (MW) oil-fired diesel barge.

ACEN earlier said PB 101 could be used for ancillary reserves, providing peaking load and/or as back-up supply.

Last September, the company sold its ageing PB 102 and PB 103 to SPC Island Power Corp.

PB 102 and PB 103 are both 4x8-MW oil-fired diesel barges located in Barangay Obrero, Iloilo City and in Barangay Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City, respectively.

PB 102 was decommissioned in July 2020 while PB 103 has not commercially operated since 2015.

In August, ACEN decided to sell the assets as part of the company’s focus on renewables.

These assets were part of the acquisition of Phinma Energy Corp. (PHEN) from the del Rosario family for P6.3 billion in 2019.

ACEN, the energy platform of Ayala Corp., is one of the fastest growing energy companies with over $1 billion of invested and committed equity in renewable and thermal energy in the Philippines and around the region.

It has over 2,600 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Australia. The company’s renewable share of capacity is at 80 percent, among the highest in the region.

The company aims to exceed 5,000 MW of attributable capacity – with projects here and abroad, to generate at least 50 percent of energy from renewables by 2025, and to become the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia.