PGI open to partnership with Napocor

The Philippine Geothermal Inc. (PGI) is willing to negotiate with the state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) for the possible consolidation of the two companies’ steam fields and geothermal assets.

"We are just waiting for a go signal from the government to start the negotiations," a PGI official who requested anonymity told The STAR.

Earlier, Power and Renewable Energy Corp. (Powercorp), a joint venture company between businessman Eusebio Tanco (60 percent) and PGI (40 percent), is holding talks with the government on the proposed merger of geothermal assets and steam fields.

But, the official clarified that as of the moment, there are no talks going on between PGI and the government. "We have no knowledge or participation in the talks of a planned consolidation of geothermal assets at Tiwi and Mak-ban," the official said.

In fact, the official said the PGI board had met few weeks ago to study the possibility of dissolving the Powercorp. "There are no talks between Powercorp and the government. But as a pioneer and long-term partner in indigenous energy development, we are encouraged with the pronouncements of the new government leadership to settle our long-standing dispute with Napocor," the official reiterated, noting that future negotiations will now be undertaken by PGI because of the proposed dissolution of Powercorp.

The official said they affirm their commitment to play an active role in a restructured power industry and the country’s socio-economic progress.

But the official noted that government should settle first the renewal of contract issue between PGI and Napocor.

He said "as a whole, the settlement structure between the PGI and Napocor should be aligned with the new law (PowerBill)."

The official also said the PGI might also explore the possibility of buying the geothermal assets of Napocor to complement PGI’s steam fields.

At present, there are at least five generating units in Tiwi with total capacity of 275-megawatts (MW). The Makban power facilities, meanwhile, are running with a total of 410 MW capacity.