Fort Pilar Energy Corporation outbid Ayala-led AC Energy for the ownership of the 650-megawatt (MW) Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTPP) in Pililla, Rizal.
Government-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) declared Fort Pilar Energy as the winning negotiating party, as it submitted the higher bid amounting to Php3.12 billion. On the other hand, AC Energy’s bid was worth Php2.22 billion. Both bids were above the Minimum Offer Price of Php1,845,222,000.
“After several attempts to privatize MTPP the last two years, we are very happy to have finally received financial bids substantially above our Minimum Offer Price. We are glad that this culminated in a successful privatization,” PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Irene Besido-Garcia said in a statement.
“PSALM definitely needs the proceeds of this privatization activity to pay for the remaining stranded contract costs and stranded debts. MTPP contributed to the losses of PSALM the past many years and so we really looked forward to selling it,” she continued.
The results of the negotiation sale will be subject to a post-qualification process to ensure that the winning negotiating party indeed met all the financial and legal requirements as indicated in the negotiation procedures.
The MTPP has lost Php1.21 billion annually from 2010 to 2019. It is currently being dispatched as a must-run unit (MRU) by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. Once turned over, though, the plant is no longer required to run as an MRU.
