Energy chief confirms $700-M Aboitiz Power, Marubeni coal plant deal

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras has confirmed the signing of a $600 million to $700-million deal to develop, build, and operate a 400-megawatt coal-fired plant at the Pagbilao power plant in Quezon. A fruit of President Benigno Aquino III’s visit to Japan this week, the deal involves Aboitiz Power Corp. and Japan’s Marubeni Corp., part owner of TeaM Energy, which owns and operates the 700-megawatt (MW) Pagbilao plant. Marubeni is also eyeing to expand the currently 1,200-MW Sual coal plant in Pangasinan by up to 600 MW, according to Almendras. TeaM Energy also owns and operates the Sual plant. Therma Luzon Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power, handles the procurement of its fuel requirement and the sale of the energy that the plant generates in administering the Pagbilao power plant. Clean coal technology Like the Pagbilao facilities, the new plant will also run on clean-coal generation technology using the circulating fluidized bed system to generate power supposedly with fewer negative environmental effects. Those who signed the memorandum of agreement were Aboitiz power president and CEO Erramon Aboitiz and Marubeni executive managing director and board member Shigeru Yamazoe. “We are very pleased to work with Marubeni at optimizing the capacity of the Pagbilao power station. This is part of our over all goal of providing power solutions that are competitively priced," Aboitiz said. Aboitiz said the company expects to complete the power plant by 2015. Aboitiz Power is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail, and power services. On the other hand, Marubeni is involved in handling products and providing services in a broad range of sectors that include food products, textiles, materials, pulp and paper, chemicals, energy, metals and mineral resources, transportation machinery, and offshore trading. — PE/VS, GMA News