December 17, 2019 | 12:08 am
CONSUNJI-LED DMCI Power Corp. is
conducting testing and commissioning of its 15-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power
plant in Masbate to replace its existing facility in the off-grid island in
Bicol that runs on diesel fuel.
“[It’s in the] finishing stages of
commissioning,” Nestor D. Dadivas, its president, told reporters, adding that
the turnover is expected on the last week of December. “The turnover is on the
last week of December.”
He said the tariff to be imposed on
consumers would be lower as the plant runs on coal at P2 per kilowatt-hour
(kWh), which is cheaper than diesel at P10 per kWh.
“The government will save about P700
million a year,” Isidro A. Consunji, president and chief executive officer of
the company’s parent DMCI Holdings, Inc., told reporters.
The savings will be a reduction on
the universal charge for missionary electrification (UCME), which is collected
from consumers to subsidize the cost of energizing off-grid areas, Mr. Consunji
said.
Mr. Dadivas said the power plant
would start contributing to the company’s revenues next year at an amount that
depends on the final tariff to be granted by the regulator. He added that the
company was also awaiting the completion of a 69-kilovolt transmission line
that will allow the conveyance of energy.
“Ang commitment nila
(Their commitment is) before year-end,” he said, referring to the transmission
line as promised by the National Power Corp.
He said the completion of the power
plant could result in raising the energy demand in the province, which
historically grows by 10% each year. With the improved power transmission
capacity, the appetite of consumers to buy appliances could rise, he said.
The off-taker of the power plant’s
output is Masbate’s electric cooperative.
Next to Masbate, the company expects
to start building a similar 15-MW coal-fired power plant in Palawan. The plant
will also displace a more expensive diesel-fired power facility.
“Meron na rin kaming EPNS
(energy project of national significance) sa Palawan,” he said,
referring to the certification issued by the Department of Energy that eases
the permitting process for crucial projects.
“We hope to finalize negotiations
with the winning bidder [for engineering, procurement and construction, or
EPC],” Mr. Dadivas said.
The power plant is expected to be
completed 22 months after the EPC award. Two contractors have been short-listed
for the project. The plant will supply power to Palawan’s electric cooperative.
Mr. Consunji said the two power
plants can burn coconut husk as alternative to coal. Initial theoretical
estimate placed the biomass component of the dual-fed plant as contributing 20%
of its output or 80 tons of husks a day.
Mr. Dadivas said the Masbate plant
will bring DMCI Power’s installed capacity at 130 MW, although next year the
net capacity should be at about 118 MW because of the retirement of old
facilities. — Victor V. Saulon
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