Thursday, May 5, 2011

Power generator eyes coal plant in Negros


Sunstar Bacolod
GLOBAL Business Power Corporation (GBPC), a leading generator in the Visayas with over 610 megawatts of power, is eying to put up a coal-fired power plant in Negros Occidental.
This was bared Wednesday by Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. who endorsed the project which, he said, will address the problem about power shortage and high cost of power.
Marañon said the company is equipped with pollution control devices, the most important factor in a coal-fired power plant.
"You have to see it for yourself," Marañon said.
GBPC is a member of the Metrobank Group of Companies with majority ownership and management control acquired on May 12, 2006.
First Metro Investment Corp, the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, owns 30 percent of Global Power while the remaining 70 percent is owned by Global Business Holdings, Inc.
The company is also engaged in coal trading through one of its units, the Toledo Cebu International Trading Resources Corporation.
In a press release, the company said in January 2009, GBPC started the groundwork for Panay Energy Development Corp (PEDC) for the construction of two 82 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant that utilizes clean coal technology through its technical partner Formosa Heavy Industries, Inc.
On September 4, 2010, the first unit of the 2x82-megawatt power plant was fired. It was followed by the testing and commissioning process of the unit.
By November 17, 2010, the same unit was synchronized with the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid, allowing power generated by the unit to be supplied to other parts of Iloilo and Aklan.
On December 26, 2010, PEDC started supplying Akelco and Ileco II with a combined capacity of 22 MW. On the same date, PEDC also supplied Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) with 24 megawwats.
On January 15, 2011, the second unit was fired and went on to undergo testing and commissioning as well.
By February 26, 2011, it synchronized with Cebu Negros Panay Grid through the newly completed 138 Kilovolt National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP)-PEDC transmission line to NGCP’s Sta. Barbara station in Iloilo.
To date, PEDC said Ceneco is deriving 24 megawatts from PEDC, the company further said through its PR. (Teresa Ellera-Dulla)
Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on May 05, 2011.

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