DOE: Dimalanta suspension causes pricing delay, hampering CBK privatization

By Gabriell Christel Galang – Jan 9, 2025 02:28 PM
from Manila Bulletin

The Department of Energy (DOE) said that delays in the privatization of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant are due to setbacks in establishing the Price Determination Methodology (PDM).

DOE Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said the PDM, which sets electricity rates for the plant’s power generation, has been delayed along with other decisions by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Lotilla said this is a result of the previous suspension of ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta.

“The only reason why it has been delayed, as you know, is that the price determination methodology was supposed to have already been acted upon by ERC in October,” Lotilla told reporters. “But Chairman Dimalanta was suspended by the Ombudsman, and that cascaded in all the delays, and therefore that’s why we had to, we could not proceed with it.”

The 797-megawatt (MW) CBK hydropower plant in Laguna is a major privatization project under the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), with a target completion date of 2025.

“The concern that had to be addressed was how to maximize the value of CBK. So it’s not PSALM’s fault,” Lotilla added.

When asked if the plant could be included in the third Green Energy Auction (GEA-3), the DOE chief said it could be, but PSALM would have been able to privatize CBK without it.

Undersecretary Rowena Guevara clarified that CBK is an older plant compared to other hydropower plants in GEA-3.

“The price won’t be expensive, but CBK is old, so its price will be affected,” she said. “That’s why the auction will commence in April instead of November,” she said.