SPANISH POWER giant Endesa SA has become the latest energy player to submit a bid for power stations being sold by the ESB. The company is reported to have offered €450 million for the facilities.
Endesa is the largest electricity provider in Spain and the number one private-sector multinational electricity utility in Latin America. It is also a major operator in the European Mediterranean region, particularly in Italy.
According to Spanish newspaper La Gaceta de los Negocios, Endesa submitted a bid on June 11th for €450 million.
Bord Gáis, Irish energy provider Viridian, UK private equity group Star Capital Partners and US energy company AES, which has a presence in 29 countries, are believed to be the other bidders.
Scottish Southern Energy Plc, the UK's second-biggest generator, which earlier this year acquired Airtricity, and E.ON, Germany's biggest utility, are understood to be no longer involved in the bidding process.
Two plants will be sold as part of the process: Tarbert, Co Kerry, which has a capacity of 590 MW, and Great Island, Co Wexford, which has a capacity of 216 MW. The other two plants, Poolbeg Thermal, Dublin (461 MW) and Marina Steam Turbine, Co Cork (27 MW), will also be divested but not as part of this bidding process.
An ESB spokesman said the bidding process is coming to an end. He expects the deal to be completed in the autumn. The four plants, accounting for 20 per cent of Ireland's electricity capacity, must be sold by 2010 as part of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) - ESB's Asset Strategy agreement of November 2006.
The strategy is aimed at opening up the Irish electricity market to greater competition and thereby reducing the ESB's share of the Irish power generation market to 40 per cent. In return, the CER has authorised the ESB to construct a new 400 MW power plant at Aghada, Co Cork.
The Government may yet be forced to break up the ESB following a vote in the European Parliament on June 18th in favour of bringing in Europe-wide legislation to force big power utilities to sell off distribution networks. - (Additional reporting, Bloomberg)
