Termovalle Power Plant

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Termovalle SCA ESP was created to develop a 200-MW power plant through the joint venture of KMR and Marubeni. The project was awarded to KMR in 1995 by Empresa de Energia del Pacifico (EPSA), an state-owned public utility that provides electricity in the Cauca Valley. EPSA also agreed to a 20-year power purchase agreement with KMR/Marubeni for 160-MW per year. The remaining capacity would be sold to industrial customers. Construction of the first unit (137-MW) began in May 1996 and commercial operation began in May 1997. The remaining 72-MW should be available after the combined cycle operations are completed in spring 1998. Termovalle is the first private utility project entering into a PPA without a government guarantee. The main project developers/sponsor are KMR Power Corp (USA), Marubeni Corp. (Japan), FPL Group, and Scudder Latin American Power Fund. In 1997, the IADB approved an $35 million A loan and an $67.3 million B loan to the project company. In 2000, AES acquired KMR Power for US$ 53 million, but the transaction involved the transfering of the TermoCandelaria and Mamonal power plants to AES. KMR's formerly shareholders retained KMR's interest in Termovalle.