PSALM receives Casecnan payment from First Gen unit

By Alena Mae S. Flores – February 25, 2024, 7:35 pm
from manilastandard.net

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) received on Friday the payment for the 165-megawatt Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant (CHEPP) from Fresh River Lakes Corp. (FLRC), a subsidiary of First Gen Corp.

Industry sources said that following the payment, the PSALM held the physical turnover of the CHEPP to FLRC on Sunday.

PSALM declared FRLC as the highest bidder on May 16, 2023, with its offer of $526 million for CHEPP.

A ceremonial turnover was also being prepared, but moved from the original target of Feb. 26, 2024, sources said.

This followed the Philippine Competition Commission’s (PCC) approval of the sale of CHEPP by PSALM and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to FLRC.

The PCC cleared Fresh River to take over the Casecnan plant after determining that the transaction would not result in substantial lessening of competition in the relevant markets.

PSALM issued a certificate of effectivity to FLRC on Jan. 31, 2024 following PCC’s clearance which marked the Casecnan final transaction documents effective and binding among the parties composed.

PSALM said it planned to use proceeds from the privatization of the CHEPP to settle its obligations.

The CHEPP, located near Pantabangan and Munoz in Nueva Ecija, is a run-of-river hydroelectric power plant which diverts water from the Casecnan and Taan Rivers through a 26-kilometer-long tunnel to generate energy.

It is one of the few large-ticket power assets being privatized by PSALM, which is mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to manage the assets and liabilities of the National Power Corp.