State-owned Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is divesting its thermal assets in the Philippines, primarily its equity in a power generation facility in Cebu province. KEPCO will also be selling its interest in its partnership with SPC Power Corporation.
The South Korean firm announced that it is already on “the second round of the sale process of its two non-core energy assets in the Philippines.” The final submission of offers are expected by first quarter this year.
The company will be selling its 60 percent shareholdings in the 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant under corporate vehicle KEPCO SPC Power Corp. and its 40 percent stake in SPC Power Corporation.
“Shortlisted bidders, who are invited to the second round, are expected to submit final offers by first quarter 2023,” the Korean firm specified.
KEPCO emphasized that it intends to enter into an agreement within the first half of this year with the winning bidder.
“The shortlisted bidders are currently undergoing due diligence and site visits,” it said, adding that “as the marketing process drew more than the expected interests, the potential sale process has gained further traction towards a successful closing.”
It further conveyed that since the distribution of a teaser on the asset sale around October last year, “several domestic and foreign bidders expressed high interest in the assets and subsequently submitted preliminary bids.”
KEPCO qualified that “despite the worldwide ESG movement, the country’s rising electricity demands and reliance on coal, as power source, allowed for competitive bids.”
The KEPCO-SPC coal-fed generating facility in Toledo, Cebu started its commercial operations in 2011; serving then as a critical capacity addition to the Visayas grid when power supply in the area had been teetering on the edge.
The technology deployed in that power asset was circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) technology – which was then typically regarded as the most advanced when it comes to reducing carbon emissions on such kind of energy installation.