PSALM set to turn over Casecnan plant in February

By Alena Mae S. Flores – January 15, 2024, 7:30 pm
from manilastandard.net

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) expects to turn over the 165- megawatt Casecnan hydroelectric power plant (CHEPP) to winning bidder Fresh River Lakes Corp. of the Lopez Group in February.

PSALM president Dennis de la Serna said Monday they were waiting for the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission on the sale of CHEPP to First Gen Corp.’s subsidiary.

“PCC approval, we expect this January,” de la Serna said. PSALM previously targeted to turn over the facility to Fresh River in December.

Fresh River offered the highest bid for CHEPP amounting to $526 million and was issued the notice of award by PSALM in May last year.

First Gen signed term loan agreements with BDO Unibank Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands as lenders for a P20-billion loan last year for its funding requirements, including the CHEPP acquisition.

“The fresh financing will be used to fund the acquisition of CHEPP, which is vital to our transition towards a decarbonized and regenerative future,” First Gen chief financial officer Emmanuel Singson said earlier.

CHEPP is a run-of-river type of power facility with limited impounding facility in Barangay Villarica, Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.

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 National Power Corp.