The implementation of the 2001 Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) has gained momentum, as noted by recent consecutive successes privatizing assets previously owned by the National Power Corp. (NPC). The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is the agency tasked to oversee the privatization process. PSALM is still striving to achieve the 70% privatization target by the end of 2009. Per EPIRA, the 70% target has been set as one of the preconditions to facilitate open access and retail competition.

The generation segment in the Philippines is still dominated by the state-owned NPC, but with the on-going privatization of its assets, the industry has several new entrants in the past three years, which include AES Corp. (United States) and SN Power (Norway). Other prominent generating companies (GenCos) are operating in the Philippines as well: Covanta/InterGen (Quezon Power); Chevron Geothermal (formerly Unocal); CAL Energy (MidAmerican Energy Holdings); Marubeni (Japan); Tokyo Electric, which teamed up to acquire the Philippine assets formerly owned by U.S. energy firm Mirant, also known as TEAM Energy; Sumitomo Corp. (Japan); STEAG (Germany) and KEPCO (Korea).

FirstGen and the Aboitiz Group are among the leading players in the Philippines' generation sector. These GenCos are in different stages of expansion, rehabilitation, upgrade or regular maintenance work, which may present opportunities for supply of various types of equipment and services.

Meanwhile, industry insiders note growing interest by new investors, both foreign and local, to build greenfield plants, which may take between three to five years before they go on-stream. This bodes well for engineering and procurement contractors, energy consultants, service providers and suppliers of heavy equipment.

Remote off-grid areas are being addressed by the government's rural electrification program, which includes tapping new and renewable energy sources. This includes the supply of electricity to isolated and underserved areas under the Small Public Utilities Group currently managed by the NPC.