ABOITIZPower is set to add some 500 megawatts of attributable capacity in 2018, coming from the completion of several hydro and base load plants in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. In a briefing to analysts last Tuesday, AboitizPower president and COO Antonio R. Moraza said the projects are on track and should be mostly online in the first half of 2018.
“The entry of these plants will significantly support the country’s energy reserves and will show that the Philippines is open for business and investments,” Moraza said in a statement posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Edge website on Wednesday.
“We have one of the most diversified portfolios in the country and we continue to be on the lookout for opportunities to push our balanced mix strategy,” he added. Moraza said AboitizPower also expects to be able to make a final decision within the year on its Aseagas biomass power plant facility in Batangas that is currently under extended shutdown.
“We are currently continuing our technical evaluation, and a write-off is a possibility,” Moraza said. AboitizPower, with partner SN Power, recently completed construction of the 8.5-MW Maris Canal hydro project in Isabela, while wholly-owned subsidiary Hedcor is wrapping up construction of a 68.8-MW hydro plant in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.
The company is also completing the 340-MW Therma Visayas base load power plant in Toledo City in southern Cebu and the 400-MW Pagbilao 3 base load power plant in Quezon. Aseagas disclosed last Monday that it prepaid its outstanding loan with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in the amount of Php2.368 billion.
The company also has invested equity of around Php950 million for the biomass plant and has around Php460 million in outstanding liabilities.
The company is one of the largest power producers in the Philippines with a right-mix portfolio of assets located across the country.
It is a major producer of Cleanergy, its brand for clean and renewable energy with several hydroelectric and geothermal power generation facilities.
It also has various fossil-fired power plants in its generation portfolio to support the base load and peak energy demands of the country.
The company also owns distribution utilities that operate in high-growth areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, including the second and third largest private utilities in the country.