Ayala-led ACEN has officially sold its oil-fired 32-megawatt Power Barge (PB) 103 docked in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu to SPC Power Corporation for Php39.2 million, the two firms said in separate disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Tuesday.
In its disclosure, SPC Power said that PB 103 would be used to provide “additional assets in the form of critical spare parts for use on its existing similar facility.”
SPC Power added that the transaction is now awaiting the approval of government-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation to assign the Lease Agreement covering the barge’s mooring.
Meanwhile, ACEN said it will reinvest the sale’s proceeds to fund its renewable energy (RE) projects. The company aims to have an all-RE portfolio by 2025.
(ACEN video)
PB 103 has been commercially inactive since 2015.
Ayala’s power arm recently sold Iloilo-based PB 102, also to SPC Power for Php39.2 million, and PB 101 to Enrique Razon-led MORE Power for Php126 million. All three barges were previously owned by Phinma Energy, which Ayala bought in 2019.
Meanwhile, SPC Power’s attributable net income went down by 25.8% to Php1.19 billion in 2021 from Php1.60 billion in 2020 due to its weaker performance in the fourth quarter, based on its annual report also disclosed to the PSE on Tuesday. The figures for the quarter, however, were not disclosed.
The Cebu-based firm’s performance took a hit in the last part of 2021 due to the delayed recovery of purchased power costs in the wake of Typhoon Odette’s onslaught, which forced the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to suspend power trading in the Visayas Grid. WESM Visayas operations resumed in mid-January.
SPC Power’s generation business also dropped 17.8% to Php 317.8 million. Most of the company’s plants are in the Visayas. These include the 22MW Bohol Diesel Power Plant in Tagbilaran City and the 32MW PB 104 in Ubay, which were tapped to provide partial power to the province following the toppling of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ two special towers.