The company plans to invest in three projects, which together have the combined potential to generate 2,100 megawatts. If successful this would mean Ratchaburi would be responsible for generating 15 per cent of the country's total electricity, its deputy managing director Thawat Vimolsarawong said.

Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding currently generates 3,995 megawatts of the country's 26,620 megawatts combined electricity output. It will bid for two of the three units, while the third will be bid for by Tri Energy, in which Ratchaburi owns a 50-per-cent stake, Thawat said.

Each unit will have the capacity to produce 700 megawatts using coal and natural gas.

The Electricity Regulatory Board earlier said that companies in which the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) holds more than 10 per cent should be prohibited from bidding. That applies to Electricity Generating Plc and Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, as Egat holds stakes of 25 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the company announced a 20-per-cent year-on-year drop in its second-quarter net profit to Bt1.46 billion. In the first six months, its net profit was Bt3.39 billion, down from Bt4.01 billion in the same period last year.

Vajana Angsukomutkul, acting managing director and deputy managing director of the company's accounting and finance department, said the profit drop could be ascribed to the decrease of availability payment of sales revenue in the second quarter, which posted at Bt2.8 billion, a 17.11-per-cent decline.

"It is an expected drop as the electricity distribution ratio this year is lower than last year, following the Power Purchase Agreement.

 "Also, one plant was suspended for a major overhaul, so the company didn't derive any revenue from it from May 12 to June 30. Such overhauls are scheduled to take place every six months," Vajana said.

He added that the cost of maintenance, servicing and parts in the second half also rose, making it 2.66 times higher than the same period last year.

Despite substantial investments planned for the rest of the year, the company is set to pay an interim dividend on its 1.45 billion shares of at least 40 per cent of the payment allocation.

In the second half the, the company plans to invest in Ratchaburi Power, a joint venture, combined-cycle power plant with a 1,400-megawatt capacity. The plant is due to come on stream in 2008.

The company anticipates its 615-megawatt Hydro Power Plant Project-Nam Ngum 2 in Laos will begin operations in January 2013.

It also plans to buy a 25-per-cent stake in the 460-megawatt Hydro Power Plant Project-Nam Ngum 3. The remaining shares will be held by MDX Group, the Laos government and Marubeni.

Negotiations are currently under way to determine an electricity fee, and are expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

The three projects will require an investment of about Bt6 billion. The company released some cash for the purpose and also aims to issue debentures of Bt7 billion.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation