17 Oct 2007
The consortium of Calaca Holdco Inc. (CHI) has been declared by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) as the highest bidder in the auction of the 600-megawatt (MW) Batangas (Calaca) Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant that the government power privatization firm conducted in its Makati office yesterday (16 October 2007).
CHI offered USD786.53 million (USD786,527,001.00) for the Batangas-based power facility, besting the other bidders. The bidders submitted their respective offers before the 12 noon deadline. All bidders offered bids above the reserve price set by the government. PSALM did not disclose the reserve price.
Incorporated on 13 June 2007, CHI was established as special purpose company through which Suez-Tractebel S.A. would bid for and hold the Calaca power plant. CHI is wholly owned by Suez-Tractebel through its wholly-owned subsidiary Belgelectric Finance B.V. Suez-Tractebel is Belgium's top utility holding company and one of the world's top independent power producers, with operations in more than 100 countries on five continents.
CHI will be declared the winning bidder as soon as PSALM had verified the accuracy, authenticity and completeness of all the bid documents that the consortium had submitted.
PSALM will then issue the Notice of Award to CHI, formally signifying that the consortium is the winning bidder for the Calaca plant.
The Calaca facility has been allocated a substantial 287-MW power supply contract, or about 48% of the plant's rated capacity. This will provide the new owner a ready market for the electricity that the power plant will generate. The Manila Electric Company will assume the biggest portion of the contracted energy which is equivalent to 169 MW.
Of the 31 National Power plants identified for privatization, PSALM has now successfully bid out 10 plants. This translates to 1,675.4 MW operating capacity, or 38.64% of the 4,335.70-MW aggregate capacity of all generating plants in Luzon and the Visayas.
Strategic Communications and Partnership Division |