By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
FOUR ENERGY players have expressed interest in rehabilitating the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric power complex in Mindanao, in line with state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).
“There have been three proposals, and I used to be made aware there may be a fourth pending PPP (Public-Private Partnership) Center evaluation,” PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna told BusinessWorld on Wednesday.
He said the corporate is currently evaluating the unsolicited proposals endorsed by the PPP Center.
While Mr. Dela Serna didn’t name the businesses, he previously said some are established energy players.
Following the successful turnover of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plants in Laguna earlier this month, the federal government is now setting its sights on the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi complex.
The power consists of seven run-of-river hydro plants with a combined installed capability of about 1,000 megawatts (MW), though only as much as 700 MW are operational attributable to aging equipment.
To push through with the rehabilitation, the state-run firm is considering a concession-type agreement, with a timeframe aligned with the PPP Code.
The concession is targeted to be implemented in 2027, after which the federal government may opt to denationalise the asset outright. The project could generate as much as P90 billion in revenue once accomplished, Mr. Dela Serna said.
The federal government recently turned over the CBK hydroelectric power plant complex to a consortium led by the Aboitiz group after offering a P36.27-billion bid.
Created under Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, PSALM is remitted to denationalise government-owned power assets and manage the proceeds to settle the financial obligations of the National Power Corp.
The state-run company earlier reported that it had worn out P13.4 billion in financial obligations last yr, bringing its remaining debt to P260.6 billion.
PSALM has crafted a 10-year plan to liquidate remaining liabilities through several measures.