The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation announced that the Consortium of Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., Sumitomo Corporation, and Electric Power Development Co. (Thunder Consortium) has emerged as the highest-ranking bidder for the sale of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) Hydroelectric Power Plants (HEPPs). The Thunder Consortium submitted a bid of PHP36.26 billion during the opening of the second envelopes (financial proposal) conducted by PSALM on July 4, 2025.
The significant bid marks a crucial step in the privatization of the CBK HEPPs, aligning with PSALM’s mandate to manage and dispose of power sector assets. The Thunder Consortium’s financial proposal was opened after a rigorous evaluation process of the qualification documents.
Following this development, the Thunder Consortium will now undergo a comprehensive post-qualification process. This critical phase will verify the accuracy and authenticity of all eligibility documents submitted by the consortium, ensuring compliance with PSALM’s bidding procedures.
Before the financial bid opening, PSALM, through its Privatization Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC), had rated two bidders as “Passed” following the evaluation of their First Envelopes (Qualification Documents) on July 2, 2025. The two qualified bidders were the Consortium of First Gen Prime Energy Corporation and Korea Water Resources Corporation (FGKW Consortium) and the Thunder Consortium. Both consortia were determined as “Qualified Bidders” by the Bidding Procedures dated February 28, 2025, as amended and supplemented, for the sale of the CBK Hydroelectric Power Plants.
The CBK HEPPs, located in the municipalities of Lumban, Majayjay, and Kalayaan in the province of Laguna, are being privatized on an “as is, where is” basis. These vital power plants are currently operated under a 25-year Build-Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer Agreement with CBK Power Company Ltd., which is set to expire in February 2026.
