4 energy players keen on Agus-Pulangi hydro rehabilitation

By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

FOUR ENERGY players have expressed interest in rehabilitating the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric power complex in Mindanao, according to state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

“There were three proposals, and I was made aware there is 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 company is currently evaluating the unsolicited proposals endorsed by the PPP Center.

While Mr. Dela Serna did not name the companies, 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 government is now setting its sights on the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi complex.

The facility consists of seven run-of-river hydro plants with a combined installed capacity of about 1,000 megawatts (MW), though only up to 700 MW are operational due 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 government may opt to privatize the asset outright. The project could generate as much as P90 billion in revenue once completed, Mr. Dela Serna said.

The 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 mandated to privatize 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 wiped out P13.4 billion in financial obligations last year, bringing its remaining debt to P260.6 billion.

PSALM has crafted a 10-year plan to liquidate remaining liabilities through several measures.