PSALM preparing to rebid Laguna hydropower plant
By Lenie Lectura – February 5, 2025
from Business Mirror
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) announced on Wednesday it will restart the bidding process for the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant.
“The PSALM notifies the public that a rebidding process for the privatization of the CBK hydroelectric power plant complex will be conducted to optimize the assets to be privatized and to give maximum value to its stakeholders.”
The state firm posted on its Facebook page that it “hopes to attract significant interest from industry players and invite robust participation from potential bidders.”
“We plan for a straight asset sale given the term of the IPPA [Independent Power Producer Administrator] is short,” he said, referring to the IPP contract that will expire in February next year.
The new bid date will be announced soon, he added.
The CBK plant complex is currently under a Build-Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer (BROT) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the CBK Power Co. Ltd. and the National Power Corp. (NPC) for 25 years from its effectivity on February 7, 2001 or until February 2026.
The privatization of the CBK complex was earlier targeted to take place in April this year. In the past, there had already been delays in the sale because government wanted to maximize the value of the power asset.
The sale, according to Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who also serves as chairman of the PSALM board of directors, may result in P100 billion in revenue for the government.
PSALM earlier identified interested firms vying for the hydro power asset. These are Japan’s Marubeni Corp., Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp., Lopez-led First Gen Prime Energy Corp., ACEN Corp.’s Giga Ace 11 Inc. and Thunder Consortium consisting of Aboitiz Renewables Inc., Electric Power Development Corp. and Sumitomo Corp.
PSALM is the agency mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act to handle the financial obligations of the NPC through the privatization of government-owned assets, collection of the proceeds and its effective implementation of its liability management program.
