Tovic Salvador

Competition Commission approves Aboitiz-Ang-Pangilinan power deal

Article (news)

Benise Balaoing

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved the power deal between Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen), Aboitiz Power&#x27;s Therma Natgas Power Inc. (Therma), and San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP).In a statement, the PCC said Chromite Gas Holdings Inc. (Chromite)--a joint venture of MGen and Therma--will get a 67 percent stake in South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC), Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI), and Ilijan Primeline Industrial Estate Corp.Chromite and San Miguel Power will also jointly buy 100 percent of Linseed Field Corp. (LFC), which operates the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Batangas City.This means MGEN and Therma, through their 60/40 ownership of Chromite, will control 67 percent of SPPC, EERI, and Ilijan Primeline. San Miguel Power also retains a 33 percent stake in these three entities and a corresponding interest in LFC.The power giants announced their <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/3/4/aboitiz-ang-pangilinan-sign-3-3-b-power-deal-932" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">$3.3 billion deal</a> to jointly launch the country&#x27;s first and most expansive integrated LNG facility in March.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/3/4/aboitiz-ang-pangilinan-sign-3-3-b-power-deal-932" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Consumer group hits Aboitiz-Ang-Pangilinan energy deal</a></div>Business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan owns MGen, while Sabin Aboitiz owns Therma. San Miguel Power, meanwhile, is owned by Ramon Ang.The PCC said it is imposing conditions to maintain a competitive market as the three companies push through with their deal. One of these is oversight of the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) to ensure power supply agreements are awarded through a transparent and competitive bidding process. The parent companies must also appoint a competition compliance officer.The firms must also operate independently of their parent companies, and boards of directors must include independent members.The power plants must also submit reports on unplanned outages and Competitive Retail Electricity Market (CREM) reports to the PCC.The conditions will be in place for five years. Violations could result in daily fines of up to P2 million per offense, in addition to other penalties.PCC said the conditions are in place to ensure a fair market while encouraging investments in critical energy infrastructure.The deal is expected to increase the country&#x27;s power supply with over 2,500 MW of generation capacity once fully operational.

The Philippine Competition Commission has approved the power deal between three of the country's biggest power giants.

The Philippine Competition Commission has approved the power deal between three of the country's biggest power giants.