The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation has officially executed the project agreements to sell the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan Hydroelectric Power Plants (CBK HEPP) to Cleanergy 9 Power Inc., the project company formed by the Thunder Consortium to assume operations and inject private sector innovation. 

PSALM  issued the Notice of Award to the Thunder Consortium, the winning bidder composed of Aboitiz Renewables Inc., Sumitomo Corporation, and Electric Power Development Co. Ltd., on July 18, 2025.

The signing ceremony, held at PSALM’s headquarters on August 14, 2025, brought together PSALM President and CEO Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna, National Power Corporation President and CEO Fernando Martin Y. Roxas, and Cleanergy 9 Power Inc. Board Chairman James Arnold D. Villaroman, alongside stakeholders from the Thunder Consortium and representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“This transaction unlocks the full potential of CBK through private sector investment and expertise while delivering fiscal benefits to the government,” highlighted Takeo Koike, ADB’s Head of the Office of Markets Development and Public-Private Partnership, underscoring the public-private partnership’s role in pushing forward the country’s clean energy future.

PSALM President Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna reflected on the arduous journey behind the agreement: “The CBK Project Agreements are the result of more than two years of painstaking work on the part of the Privatization Bids and Awards Committee, the Technical Working Group for the CBK Privatization, our transaction advisor the Asian Development Bank, and their legal advisors. We have always been cognizant of the great responsibility that goes into the drafting of the CBK Project Agreements.”

The CBK HEPP is presently managed by CBK Power Company Ltd. under a 25-year Build-Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer (BROT) Agreement that will expire in February 2026.

What does this latest development mean for the future of Philippine hydropower? Join the conversation and weigh in on the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Follow Power Philippines on Facebook and LinkedIn or join our Viber community for more updates. 


Photo credit: PSALM