Ayala’s Enex seeks buyers of Batangas power plant output

MANILA  -Listed Enex Energy Corp. is still awaiting competitive bidding for its 1,100-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine project in Batangas province that is expected to boost capacity in the Luzon grid, according to a top official.

Enex chair John Eric Francia said a competitive selection process would help the company secure a customer offtake contract and ensure long-term fuel supply.

Offtake agreements allow a buyer to purchase all or a portion of the manufacturer’s future production. These are usually undertaken before the construction of the production facility, such as a power plant, to ensure financing.

Enex is pursuing the project through Batangas Clean Energy Inc. (BCE), a joint venture with US-based Blackstone Inc. portfolio company Gen X Energy LLC.

“We hope that the BCE project will be able to contribute to the much-needed capacity in the Luzon power grid. Despite the challenges of the past year, we continue … to further advance the development of the BCE gas plant to help address the country’s energy needs,” Francia said at the Enex annual stockholders’ meeting last week.

Enex is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ayala-led energy firm ACEN Corp., where Francia concurrently serves as president.

The Department of Energy is currently reviewing the competitive selection process to make sure that power firms are able to deliver needed supply within agreed timeframes.

BCE said early this year it was eyeing the construction of the P60-billion plant to begin in August to provide the much-needed power generation capacity by 2025.

According to BCE, the Batangas plant can burn up to 50-percent clean hydrogen by volume as supplemental fuel once hydrogen becomes commercially available.

This could supply 5 to 10 percent of the Luzon grid’s power requirements, it said.

The project will be constructed on a 24-hectare (ha) onshore land and a 15-ha foreshore area in barangays Libjo and Malitam. INQ