MANILA, Philippines - The group of corporate tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan is exploring for possible partnerships for power projects in Mindanao in a bid to help address the ongoing power crisis in the area.
Pangilinan said his group, through Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), is open to a team-up with existing players in the island such as the Aboitizes and the Alcantaras. Pangilinan is chairman of Meralco.
On the sidelines of a briefing yesterday on the first quarter results of Meralco, Pangilinan said the company is willing to help the government in providing additional power generation capacity in the island and other parts of the country.
“In Mindanao, it will be via partnerships…that’s the quickest way….We’re open to anybody,†Pangilinan said.
He said the company is currently in exploratory talks with possible partners although he declined to identify them.
He said Meralco is willing to help the country in anyway it can in the power generation business.
Last week, the Ayala Group also said it is eyeing to participate in power projects in Mindanao to help the Aquino administration address the ongoing power supply crunch in the island.
Ayala Corp. managing director and head of the conglomerate’s energy investments Eric Francia has said AC Energy Holdings Inc., the Ayalas’ holding company for its investments in the power sector, is in talks with potential partners for power projects in Mindanao.
At present, Mindanao is suffering from seven- to eight-hour power failure and stretches to 10 hours in some areas.
The Department of Energy is currently studying various options on how to address the crisis, which it said would continue until 2015.
The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has warned that the Mindanao power crisis could happen again next year given that there had been no additions to the baseload capacity.
Consolidated forecasts for electricity demand in Mindanao showed an annual average demand of growth of 4.28 percent from 2010 to 2019. This is higher than the national rate of 3.63 percent in the same period.
According to data from the Department of Energy, the Mindanao grid at present has 37.31 percent baseload generating capacity compared to Luzon’s 63.94 percent and Visayas’ 71.88 percent.