Mirant Phils eyes strategic partner for participation in Napocor sale

Mirant Philippines, Inc. is expanding its gas and coal businesses as part of its long-term investment plans in the country.

The company, which used to be known as Southern Energy Philippines, Inc., is also open to a strategic partnership with local power players for possible participation in the privatization of the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

Marce Fuller, president and CEO of US-based Mirant Corp., the parent firm of Mirant Phils., said they are just waiting for the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) before deciding on whether or not they will participate in the privatization of Napocor assets.

"We are just waiting to see how the IRR works through just so that we will understand better what opportunities are there," she said.

According to Fuller, Mirant will likely invest in generation and marketing. "I don’t believe that we will be an investor in the transmission so it will probably be more on the generation side, and maybe in marketing,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Mirant is looking at the possibility of selling its excess capacity to variious economic zones in the country.

Fuller said they are holding talks with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and with private ecozone developers for a possible power supply arrangement.

Mirant operates a number of power plants in the country the biggest of which is the Sual power plant in Pangasinan which has a capacity of 1,218 megawatts.

According to Fuller, the Sual power plant has an excess capacity of 218 MW of which 40 MW had been sold to the Bataan Polyethylene plant which is controlled by the Garcia family.

The Mirant executive said they are working on the possibility that the excess capacity will be absorbed by the ecozones.

Aside from the Sual power plant, Mirant also owns and operates the 735-MW Pagbilao power plant in Quezon, the 210-MW Navotas II power station in Metro Manila and the 15-MW SDC power station in San Ildefonso, Bulacan.

The company also owns a stake in the soon-to-be-operational 1,200-MW natural gas-fired power plant in Ilijan, Batangas.