Ayala power unit draws down P5 B to fund Bataan coal plant

MANILA, Philippines - GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) has made the first drawdown of nearly P5 billion from its credit line to finance the construction of its 2x668-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Bataan.

Ayala Corp. disclosed yesterday GNPD has made an initial drawdown under its financing documents to construct the first unit of its supercritical coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan.

GNPD is the joint venture company among Ayala Corp. power unit AC Energy Holdings Inc., Sithe Global GNPD BV and Power Partners Ltd. Co.

The initial drawdown amounted to P4.93 billion, or P4 billion and $2 million from its peso-denominated and dollar-denominated credit facility, AC Energy said. In total, the credit line amounts to P7 billion and $670 million.

Construction of the plant started in January this year and is now is in full swing, with Unit 1 scheduled for completion by 2019.

“The GNPD plant will support the growing energy needs of Luzon and Visayas,” Ayala Corp. said.

In October 2015, AC Energy president and CEO John Eric Francia said GNPD is borrowing as much as $1 billion for the construction of the first 668-MW unit of its supercritical power plant, which is an expansion of the existing 600-MW coal-fired power plant in Mariveles.

For offtaker contracts, GNPD has signed 20-year power supply deals with Region 8 electric cooperatives (ECs) to cover an aggregated baseload requirement of 150 MW starting Dec. 26, 2018.

The Region 8 ECs consist of Don Orestes Romualdez Electric Cooperative Inc. Leyte II Electric Cooperative Inc. Leyte III Electric Cooperative Inc. Leyte IV Electric Cooperative Inc. Leyte V Electric Cooperative Inc. Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative Inc. Biliran Electric Cooperative Inc. Northern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc. Samar I Electric Cooperative Inc. Samar II Electric Cooperative Inc. and Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc.

US-based GN Power, owned by Nauruan-American firm Power Partners Ltd. Co., partnered AC Energy to develop the expansion of the existing Bataan plant, with the Ayala company acquiring a 17 percent stake in GN Power in January 2014.