PRESS RELEASE: ERC renews COC of CE Casecnan Water and Energy Co.
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ERC Chairperson Zanaida G. Cruz-Ducut awards the renewed Certificate of Compliance (COC) to Mr. Joseph Lee Sullivan, President of CE Casecnan Water and Energy Co., Inc. as witnessed by ERC Commissioners (from the left) Rauf A. Tan, Alejandro Z. Barin, Maria Teresa Ramirez-Castañeda, (from the right) Jose C. Reyes, ERC-MOS Director Debora T. Layugan, CE Casecnan Atty. Ma. Winnie Lardizabal-Morales, and Vice President Trinity S. Gatuz. |
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) renewed the Certificate of Compliance (COC) upon application of CE Casecnan Water and Energy Co., Inc. (CE Casecnan) for its two-unit Hydroelectric Power Plant Facilities and seven-unit Diesel Engine generating sets all located in Sitio Pauan, Brgy. Villarica, Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. The hydroelectric power plant facilities have an aggregate installed capacity of 153 MW whereas the diesel engine generating sets have an aggregate installed capacity of 2.816 MW. The ERC has established the continued compliance of CE Casecnan with the required environmental, technical and financial standards.
CE Casecnan was registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 1995 (as amended in August 1998). The company’s primary purpose is to design, develop, construct, erect, assemble, commission, finance, own and operate a combined irrigation and hydroelectric power project and related facilities in Central Luzon for the conversion into electricity of water provided by and under contract with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and for the supply of water for agricultural purposes. CE Casecnan is 70% owned by CE Casecnan II, Inc., a local company; 20% owned by CE Casecnan, Ltd., a Bermuda registered corporation. Both companies are indirectly wholly owned subsidiaries of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (MEHC). The remaining 10% is owned by a third party. The company’s ultimate parent is Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., a US-based company.
CE Casecnan is a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project with ultimate ownership to be eventually granted to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA). At present, both electricity and water are sold to NIA who in turn sells the generated electricity to the National Power Corporation (NPC). The NPC and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) trade some of the generated power in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM)
“The first batch of the COCs was granted in 2005 with a validity of five (5) years. In this present cycle of renewals, the ERC is glad to observe that the operators have continued to comply with the standards and conditions set forth in the COCs. Hydroelectric power is an indigenous energy source that is cheap and environmentally friendly. The global warming period makes the maintenance and management of these plants serious concerns. The ERC will always monitor compliance to the set standards to help the electric power industry address the challenges brought forth by climate change,” ERC Chairperson Zenaida G. Cruz-Ducut concluded.
July 13, 2010