Angat hydro plant sale faces delay due to domestic issues

Privatization of Angat Hydroelectric Plant (HEP) would not happen in the next two years or until the problems would be resolved, an official of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (Psalm) said. Froilan Tampinco, Psalm’s vice president for asset management and electricity trading, said issues surrounding the hydro plant must be resolved first for them to initiate the auction of the 246-megawatt Angat power facility. “We can’t put it in the bidding list [this year or until next year] because of the domestic water component issues," Tampinco said. However, he is hopeful that by 2009, they can resolve the problem and put in the auction block the Angat plant. Located in San Lorenzo, Norzagaray, Bulacan, Angat HEP began commercial operation on July 1967 with the commissioning of Auxiliary Units 1 and 2 and was later followed by Main Generating Units 1 and 2 on October 1967. In August 1968, two more generating units came into operations, the main units 3 and 4. Other than the 246 MW of electricity that the plant contributes to the Luzon Grid, Angat HEP also has a multipurpose reservoir that provides 97 percent of the domestic water supplies of Metro Manila, irrigates some 27,000 hectares of riceland in Bulacan and a flood control function that benefit several municipalities in Bulacan. Meanwhile, Tampinco said that for this month, they are hoping to privatize the Ambuklao power facility. He said 11 investors groups have already expressed interest to bid for Ambuklao, which is slated on November 28. Of the 11 investors, Tampinco said three are foreigners and 8 were local investors. Psalm has successfully privatized the 600 MW Masinloc coal-fired plant and the 600MW Calaca coal-fired power facility in September and last month and by December, the government hopes to privatize the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) and Manila Thermal plant. Once these assets were privatized, it would bring the government’s privatization target to 50 by end of this year, 70 percent by 2008 and 100 percent by 2009. - GMANews.TV