Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) may consider bidding for Mindanao’s first coal-fired power plant, seeing an opportunity in the region’s growing electricity demand.
MGEN president and CEO Emmanuel Rubio said the company would look into the possible acquisition of the 232-megawatt (MW) STEAG Mindanao Coal, which the government is preparing to privatize.
‘Could be. It’s an opportunity. I know that plant,’ he said when asked whether MGEN would pursue the asset.
Rubio is familiar with the facility, having served as president and CEO of Aboitiz Power Corp. when it acquired a majority stake in STEAG State Power Inc., the plant’s operator.
Aboitiz-led SPI Power Inc., formerly STEAG State Power, operates the coal plant under a power purchase agreement.
AboitizPower owns an 85-percent stake in SPI Power, while La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp. holds the remaining 15 percent.
Given the potential for growth in Mindanao’s power market, Rubio also expects other companies to take an interest in the plant.
‘I think there’s an opportunity in Mindanao. There’s pent-up demand in Mindanao,’ he said.
State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is currently seeking consultancy services to conduct a third-party financial valuation for the Mindanao Coal privatization.
The plant is a baseload power facility located on a 55-hectare site within the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental.
It was developed under a 25-year build-operate-transfer agreement between National Power Corp. and State Power Development Corp., a consortium of State Investment Trust Inc. and Harbin Power Engineering Co. Ltd.
Currently, PSALM buys the plant’s power generation output under a 25-year cooperation period set to expire in November 2031. At the end of the contract, ownership of the plant will be transferred to PSALM.
Outside Mindanao, MGEN is pursuing the development of two coal-fired power projects: the 73-MW Toledo plant in Cebu and the 1,200-MW Atimonan facility in Quezon.
The company earlier secured confirmation from the Department of Energy that both projects are exempt from the existing coal moratorium.