Published on Monday, 29 April 2013 19:49
Written by Lenie Lectura
LOPEZ-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) announced the shutdown of its Bacon-Manito (BacMan) Unit 1 facility this week.
“As planned, we will shut down Unit 1 on May 2 for inspection. We will make further decisions concerning the unit once the inspection has been carried out,” said EDC Corporate Information Officer Rowena Clemente, in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday.
The country’s largest producer of geothermal energy last month restarted the two 55-megawatt (MW) BacMan Unit 1 facility after it ordered its shut down more than a month ago.
BacMan Unit 1 now runs at its expected capacity but the company had announced early last month that it would shut it down after no more than 30 days of operation to inspect and assess the facility’s condition.
The plant straddles the towns of Bacon in Sorsogon and Manito in Albay. The BacMan geothermal power plant consists of: BacMan I (composed of 2 units producing 55 MW each) and BacMan II (with two units producing 20 MW each).
Unit 2 was shut down after a turbine blade was sheared off, causing damage to it. As a precaution, EDC suspended the operation of Unit1.
EDC officials said the resumption of BacMan’s commercial operations would have allowed the company to generate more revenues. The Lopez affiliate believed then that once rehabilitated and operating, the BacMan geothermal facilities could generate strong returns and cash flow from a vertically integrated operation.
EDC accounts for 62 percent of the total installed geothermal capacity in the country. The company expects steady growth this year despite the shutdown of the BacMan facility. source
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