Laguna hydro plant privatization on track for 2025 — PSALM

STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is on track for the privatization and turnover of the 796.64-megawatt (MW) Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant (HEPP) complex in Laguna next year, its president said.

“We’re undergoing a privatization process this year. We hope to have a successful bidding next year,” PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna said during a Senate budget hearing on Tuesday.

Mr. Dela Serna said that the company is targeting to determine the indicative price for the CBK hydropower complex one to two months prior to the bidding.

The CBK hydro facilities are currently under a 25-year build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer and power purchase agreement between independent power producer CBK Power Co. Ltd. and National Power Corp. (NPC), which will expire in 2026.

These facilities include the 39.37-MW Caliraya HEPP in Lumban, the 22.91-MW Botocan HEPP in Majayjay, and the 366-MW Kalayaan I and 368.36-MW Kalayaan II pumped storage power plants in Laguna.

Currently, PSALM has identified six qualified bidders.

As of June, the company has privatized at least 82% of the generation assets, equivalent to 9,026 megawatts.

The remaining assets under PSALM include the CBK hydroelectric complex, the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric complex, and a coal-fired power plant in Mindanao.

Mr. Dela Serna noted that the Agus-Pulangi facilities are up for rehabilitation. He said that PSALM has received numerous comments on the modality as there are concerns that it may lead to higher rates.

“In this case, the main concern really is the cost of power… We currently give the lowest rates in Mindanao. We can enter into long-term contracts with cooperatives and distribution utilities and assign it to the concessionaire,” he said.

The Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex consists of seven run-of-river hydroelectric power plants located in southern and central Mindanao with a combined installed capacity of 1,001.1 MW.

PSALM was created under Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, to lead the privatization of generation and transmission assets of the NPC and the National Transmission Corp.

It is also tasked to liquidate the financial obligations and administer the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UCME).

“We have reduced the total financial obligations by 78% from P1.2 trillion in 2023 to P277 billion in June of 2024,” Mr. Dela Serna said.

PSALM’s corporate life is set to expire in June 2026, or 25 years after the effectivity of EPIRA. Should PSALM be dissolved, all its assets and liabilities will revert to the National Government. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera