Ayala-led ACEN has sold its 32-megawatt (MW) oil-fired Power Barge (PB) 102 in Lapuz, Iloilo City to SPC Power Corporation for Php39.2 million, based on separate disclosures of both firms to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

ACEN said in its disclosure that the final price was determined following negotiations with Cebu-based SPC Power.

On the other hand, SPC Power said the barge’s valuation “was based on the present value of the expected benefits to be derived from the purchased unit as spare parts for [the company’s] existing unit as well as the market value of the hull.”

Ayala’s power arm said it will reinvest the proceeds of the sale to fund its renewable energy (RE) projects. ACEN aims to build a 5,000MW all-RE portfolio by 2025. Earlier this week, the company activated its 40MW hybrid solar and energy storage project in Alaminos, Laguna – the first of its kind in the country.

Meanwhile, SPC Power said it will have “continuous availability of critical and regular spares for maintenance which will result [in] stable operations of the existing assets and sustained supply of power in [its] area of responsibility,” it said in its disclosure.

PBs 101, 102, and 103 were previously owned by Phinma Energy, which ACEN bought in 2019. 

Last month, ACEN sold PB 101, also a 32MW oil-fired diesel barge in Iloilo City, to MORE Power Barge, Inc. (MPBI) for Php126 million. MPBI is a unit of Enrique Razon-led MORE Power, the city’s distribution utility. 

Aside from PB 102, ACEN will be selling PB 103 to SPC Power, but the sale has yet to come to a close.

SPC Power also owns PB 104, another 32MW barge located in Ubay, Bohol. PB 104 was one of two SPC Power facilities used to partly restore electricity in the province following Typhoon Odette’s onslaught in December 2021.

Before being purchased by private firms, PBs 101 to 104 were owned by government-owned National Power Corporation.