AboitizPower hikes stake in Steag State Power

Aboitiz Power Corp. has raised its stake in a company that operates a coal-fired thermal power plant in Misamis Oriental.

Aboitiz Power, in a stock exchange filing, said it has completed the company's acquisition of an additional equity stake in Steag State Power Inc. (SPI).

The acquisition involves the purchase of 167.648 million shares of SPI from German firm Steag GmbH for $36.08 million, plus locked box interest at a simple rate of four percent per annum from Jan. 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

The acquired shares constitute 35.4 percent of the outstanding capital stock of SPI.

The completion of the acquisition raises AboitizPower's equity interest in SPI to 69.4 percent from 34 percent previously.

SPI operates and maintain the 210-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant, including the transmission line and related facilities, at the PHIVIDEC lndustrial Estate in Mindanao.

AboitizPower earlier said the transaction would result in the expansion of the company's attributable net income without adding new coal capacity to the grid.

'AboitizPower is continuously managing and optimizing its generation portfolio, both in thermal and renewable energies. This is a good opportunity to help sustainably manage an existing generation facility, which is a vital component of the Mindanao grid, and provides affordable and reliable power to many Filipinos,' the company said.

AboitizPower is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group's investments in power generation, distribution, and retail electricity services.

The company is one of the largest power producers in the Philippines with a balanced portfolio of assets located across the country.

It is preparing to complete this year more renewable energy projects that would help beef up the company's clean energy portfolio.

These include the 94-megawatt peak (MWp) Cayanga solar project in Pangasinan that is expected to begin commercial operations by June, and the first phase of the 159-MWp Laoag solar project in Pangasinan which will be tested and commissioned by the third quarter.

The company is working toward bringing its renewable portfolio to 4,600-MW of net attributable sellable capacity by 2030, which includes 3,700 MW of additional renewable energy capacity.