Firm commits to generate 3,000 MW more for Luzon
MANILA, Philippines—Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has committed to put up new power facilities that can deliver as much as 3,000 megawatts (MW) in additional supply for the national grid, completing the projects within the six-year term of President Aquino.
San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. will also consolidate the conglomerate’s plans to construct power plants and undertake mining activities.
Alan T. Ortiz, newly appointed president and COO of San Miguel Global Power, said that when he assumed the position last Sept. 1, he received his marching orders from San Miguel president Ramon S. Ang to start building the facilities.
Earlier, Ang announced the conglomerate’s plans to construct 3,000 MW in new capacities, but he provided no timeline as to when the company would actually begin construction and when the facilities could start operations.
Ang had told the Inquirer that San Miguel only recently started preparations for a $6-billion capital rollout to construct coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities to generate the 3,000 MW in additional capacity.
Of the 3,000-MW portfolio, about 1,200 MW will be added to the Luzon grid, 600 MW to the Visayas grid, and another 1,200 MW to the Mindanao grid, Ang said.
In the past three weeks, San Miguel Global Power has begun tapping the coal mine previously owned by Daguma Agro Minerals Inc., which is in a “very difficult area to harness,” Ortiz said.
This particular project, which is located on the border of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, is among the largest undeveloped coal mines in the country, he added.
The Daguma coal mine alone is estimated to hold about 150 million metric tons of coal, although the quality of this resource has yet to be validated, Ortiz said.
The Daguma mine was one of three coal mines that San Miguel acquired last March. The other two coal mines were previously owned by Bonanza Energy Resources Inc. and Sultan Energy Mining and Development Corp.
These three sites reportedly hold resources capable of generating an initial 1,200 MW.
Apart from coal and LNG, San Miguel is also considering the construction of hydropower facilities, Ortiz said.
“We expect to be heavily involved in the hydropower sector ... as we have scoured the countryside for hydropower sources,” he said.
Ortiz however appealed to stakeholders and the government to help San Miguel deliver on its promise to build the facilities that would generate 3,000 MW in new capacity.
“Let’s help the country. But we need the government to ease the way and make it possible for new players like us to build new capacity our country sorely needs,” he said, adding that the company would need a lot “help, luck and patience” in dealing with other stakeholders such as the local governments.
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