KOREA Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) on Friday paid the government P19.66 billion, paving the way for the official turnover of the 218-megawatt (MW) Angat Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP), which was once owned by the Philippine government. “They remitted to us P19.662 billion. It was credited to PSALM [Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management] Corp. early this morning,” PSALM President and CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. said after the turn-over ceremony held in Makati City. “With K-Water’s payment of the purchase price, the government can finally close the highly anticipated sale of the Angat HEPP. The actual turnover of operations of the Bulacan-based hydro plant to its new owner will commence at 2400 hours of 31 October 2014,” Ledesma said.
K-Water won the bidding conducted by PSALM for the Angat HEPP on April 28, 2010 with its bid of $441 million. It bested five other bidders, which also submitted bids, namely First Gen Northern Energy Corp., $365 million; San Miguel Corp., $312.5; SN-Aboitiz Power Pangasinan Inc., $256 million; Trans-Asia Oil & Energy Development Corp., $237 million; and DMCI Power Corp., $188.89 million.
The Supreme Court (SC), however, suspended the asset sale in May 2010 through a status quo ante order after a complaint filed by petitioners Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (Ideals) Inc., et al, questioned the legality of PSALM’s conduct of the bidding for the Angat HEPP.
But, in October 2012, the SC upheld the legality and validity of the conduct of the bidding process and the subsequent issuance of a Notice of Award to K-Water. Despite a Motion for Partial Reconsideration lodged by Ideals Inc. on the decision, the SC en banc upheld its decision and resolved to deny the said motion “with finality” in November 2012.
With the SC clearance, PSALM issued the Certificate of Effectivity of the Asset Purchase Agreement to K-Water on September 2 2013, effectively setting in motion the closing of the sale. K-Water obliged and posted the required performance bond worth $8,817,600 on September 12, 2013. Located in San Lorenzo, Norzagaray, Bulacan, the Angat HEPP consists of four main units, each with a 50-MW capacity. The units were commissioned between 1967 and 1968. To augment its operation, the plant uses five auxiliary units with a total capacity of 46 MW.
The 18-MW Auxiliary Units 1, 2 and 3 are part of the sale, while the 28-MW Auxiliary Units 4 and 5, which are owned by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, were not part of the bidding.
“The sale merely involves the power plant component of the Angat Dam,” Ledesma said. “The privatization of the Angat HEPP will not affect the water supply from the Angat reservoir as the Angat Dam remains the property of the Philippine government.”