AboitizPower: PH energy sector already competitive

AS telecommunications companies are agreeable to the entry of foreign players, a key player in the power industry believes the Philippine energy business is already being participated in by a wide group of foreign players.

AboitizPower president and chief operating officer Antonio Moraza, in a statement, said the Philippine power industry is one of the “most competitive in the region.”

“The Philippine power industry is already open to foreign players. We are one of the most competitive in the country, with about 100 registered generators in the market, represented by Korea, US, Thailand, and Japan as investors and owners,” Moraza said.

The statement came in response to a pronouncement of President Duterte last week that he will open up the communications and energy sector.

“My decision now is, I will open up the Philippines. Or else you can count with your fingers in one hand, the power players of this country. I would not say that you are the elite because it would (have) another connotation,” Duterte said in his speech at the Davao International Airport upon arrival from New Zealand.

The President said the government is looking into “regulatory requirements and institutional arrangements to hasten the entry of new players in the power industry and energy sector.”

Executives of Globe and PLDT were also quoted in separate statements that they welcome any foreign development in the Philippine telco industry.

Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, only companies owned by Philippine nationals or corporations, by at least 60 percent, may operate as a public utility.

AboitizPower has 16 subsidiaries to date engaged in power generation and distribution.

The company holds all its investments in renewable energy through Aboitiz Renewables, Inc. (ARI) and non-renewable energy through Therma Power, Inc. (TPI) with both ARI and TPI being whollyowned subsidiaries.

Since last year, AboitizPower said in a disclosure that it established a whol- ly-owned, Singapore-based subsidiary, AboitizPower International Pte. Ltd. (APIPL), which entered into an agreement with PT Medco Power Indonesia to participate in the exploration and development of a potential two 55-Megawatt greenfield geothermal plant in East Java province in Indonesia.

On Sept. 25, 2015, APIPL also entered into an agreement with SN Power AS and PT Energy Infranusantara to participate in the feasibility studies for the exploration and development of a potential 127 MW hydropower generation project along the Lariang River in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Nevertheless, Duterte said that should telco and power players manage bring down electricity and communication costs, he “will forget” what he said.