ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider AboitizPower vs. FGen for CBK hydro plant privatization as 2 consortia qualify to bid

AboitizPower vs. FGen for CBK hydro plant privatization as 2 consortia qualify to bid

Published Jul 2, 2025 03:59 pm
First Gen chairman and CEO Federico R. Lopez (left), and Aboitiz Power president and CEO Danel C. Aboitiz (right)
First Gen chairman and CEO Federico R. Lopez (left), and Aboitiz Power president and CEO Danel C. Aboitiz (right)
Aboitiz Power Corp.’s (AboitizPower) renewable energy (RE) arm and Lopez-led First Gen Corp. (FGen) are bidding for the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan Hydroelectric Power Plants (CBK HEPP), according to the state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).
PSALM’s privatization bids and awards committee (PBAC), through its technical working group (TWG), has revealed that the two leading energy players have submitted their bids for the privatization of CBK, through their respective consortia, during the June 30 deadline.
PSALM said the two qualified bidders are FWKG consortium, which is composed of FGen and K-Water Resources Corp.; and Thunder Consortium of Aboitiz Renewables Inc. (ARI), J-Power, and Sumitomo Corp.
This was determined after PSALM’s PBAC completed the evaluation of the technical bids contained in the first envelope of the two-envelope bidding process.
The opening of the financial bid documents, contained in the second envelope, will be on Friday, July 4.
The 797-megawatt (MW) CBK hydropower plants, located in Laguna, are PSALM’s major privatization initiative. The facility will be privatized on an “as is, where is” basis.
While the minimum bid price has yet to be disclosed, PSALM has already set the rate via a comprehensive process of financial valuation, as well as government agency consultations to ensure that the bid terms are fair with the current prevailing market conditions.
Prior to the June 30 submission of bids, the bidding for the hydropower plants had been postponed due to setbacks related to the price determination methodology (PDM).
PDM sets the electricity rates for the plants’ power generation, and has previously faced delays, according to former Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla.
Proceeds from the privatization of CBK had been earlier estimated by the Department of Finance (DOF) to reach up to ₱100 billion.
Finance Undersecretary Catherine L. Fong, who heads the DOF’s privatization and partnerships group (PPG), said the revenues from CBK’s privatization will come in for next year.
“We expect the financial close of [CBK privatization] to happen next year, that’s why the income from this is expected next year,” Fong told Manila Bulletin last Monday, June 30.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto had described the CBK asset sale as the “biggest” disposition activity for the year.
In February, PSALM canceled the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) privatization for CBK, as it changed the disposition mode into a direct asset sale due to the expiring IPP contract early next year.

Related Tags

First Gen Corp. (FGen) Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydropower plants
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.