NGCP’s Panay Assets Acquisition Hangs

Ty-led Global Business Power Corporation has set on record that the industry regulator has not yet decided on

the proposed acquisition of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) of its power connection

assets in Panay island.

The recent decision of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), it specified, merely denied the motion to

dismiss filed by the Iloilo Business Club and the city government of Iloilo for their lack of jurisdiction on

the case.

The regulatory body, it said, has scheduled a pre-trial conference today, December 3.

“The order does not in any way rule on the application of NGCP to acquire the assets and such will be decided

upon after the conclusion of the hearings,” Global Power has noted in a statement to the media.

The company reiterated that the ERC ruling cannot be construed then as something that already bestows rightful

ownership of the assets as it has to be established yet whether these facilities would fall under the

classification of transmission assets and thus be transferred under the charge of the transmission

firm-concessionaire.

NGCP expressed interest to acquire the power connection assets of Global Power’s subsidiary Panay Energy

Development Corporation (PEDC), as it opined that these are considered “transmission assets” because they are

serving several grid customers.

Additionally, the same switchyard of PEDC will eventually be used by the planned 54-megawatt San Lorenzo wind

farm project of Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corporation.

However, this was refuted sternly by PEDC noting that its Panay power generating units 1 and 2 “are grouped

together to constitute a single service facility which provides customers a full complement of services from

baseload, intermediate and peak power as well as ancillary.”

It added that its diesel plant “serves as the blackstart and back-up generator of the coal plant and vice

versa.”

Global Power therefore averred that “it is incorrect for NGCP to refer to them as several grid users,” instead,

it was pointed out that the assets be categorized as dedicated limited point-to-point transmission facility.

Despite some unresolved issues on the case though, Global Power has indicated that “PEDC is amenable to

similarly transfer them to NGCP, subject to the payment of the fair market price for them.”

That, as Global Power also debunked allegations that it “does not have the necessary expertise and resources to

operate and maintain its generating plant units as well as its assets which are appurtenant thereto.”

https://mb.com.ph/articles/384082/ngcp-s-panay-assets-acquisition-hangs