Quezon Power clarifies it is not sister firm of Meralco

Quezon Power (Philippines) Ltd. (QPPL) is not a sister company of the Lopez group’s Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

QPPL issued this clarification in the light of previous reports that QPPL is part of the Lopez group.

The misconception on the ownership structure of QPPL arises from the fact that the power plant supplies all of its power to Meralco, the country’s largest power distributor controlled by the Lopez group.

The company said Meralco has no shares of stock in the company. Its stockholders include: InterGen which owns 46 percent of the company, Global Power Investments L.P. with 26 percent share; Covanta Energy Corp. with 26 percent; and, PMR Ltd. Co. with two percent stake.

The first three companies are all US-based firms owning cumulative shares of 98 percent of QPPL. While PMR is the only Filipino company stockholder in the power plant located in the province of Quezon.

At present, Covanta manages and operates the plant at Barangay Cagsiay I in Mauban, Quezon.

QPPL is the country’s first build-own-operate (BOO) power plant. Aside from supplying exclusively to Meralco franchise areas, QPPL also installed a 230-kilovolt transmission line to connect to the Luzon grid.

The 470-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant started commercial operation in May 2000 as part of the private sector initiatives to secure the supply of electricity in the wake of crippling power shortages that resulted in rolling brownouts. The plant was built with no government guarantees or investments.

Last year, QPPL was one of the finalists for the 2002 Secretary of State’s Award for Global Corporate Excellence in recognition of the company’s corporate citizenship, innovation and exemplary business practices, the only US company in Asia to get this kind of recognition. – Donnabelle Gatdula