Meralco clarifies position in Nigeria project

The country’s largest power distribution utility is working out the part it will play in a power distribution partnership deal in Nigeria.

By the third or fourth quarter of this year, “we would have a clearer idea of what our scope of involvement will be in our technical partnership,” Manila Electric Co. president Oscar Reyes said.

The company is still in talks with its potential partner, Lagos-based Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Ltd. (IEDM).

Meralco and IEDM are part of a consortium that bagged crucial deals to take over two electricity distribution firms privatized by the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The deal with IEDM is essentially a technical service agreement. The Nigerian firm needs Meralco’s expertise in power distribution. If plans go smoothly, Meralco may start getting fixed fees from the partnership’s activities by the second half of the year.

Reyes and Meralco chair Manuel V. Pangilinan both said the venture would enable Meralco to pursue more operations abroad.

Earlier this year, Meralco and its controlling stockholder, First Pacific Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong, sealed a $488-million deal to acquire a 70-percent stake in a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired power plant in Singapore.

First Pacific is also seeking opportunities in power, water, agriculture, and even mining in other countries such as Myanmar.