THE order that stopped the hauling and transporting of raw coal for the power plants of Kepco-Salcon Power Corp. (KSPC) in Barangay Colon, Naga City was lifted, but with conditions.
Engr. Antonio Corpuz, Salcon Power Corp. (SPC) senior vice president and chief operations officer, told Sun.Star Cebu that Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia took note that KSPC has taken measures to address the coal dust problem.
These are the governor’s conditions: that KSPC and its contractor Doosan Construction will follow all “mitigating measures and procedures”; that the company will immediately start working on its permanent mitigating structures, as earlier agreed upon; and that KSPC will keep coal dust from bothering residents again.
“If there are again complaints raised, I will ask you to stop delivery,” said the governor during a meeting last night. She gave the power company until April 30 to build a permanent structure to contain the coal stockpile.
The “mitigating measures and procedures” include continuous spraying of water during when coal is unloaded; a two- to three-meter drop height from the coal chute outlet to the top of the coal stockpile; and suspending the delivery and unloading of coal during strong winds.
Moon Jong Woo, KSPC vice president and construction site manager, told Governor Garcia before she lifted the cease-and-desist order that their power plant was running out of coal. It only had enough coal to last until noon today and would be forced to stop operations.
Unloading
Some 45,000 tons of coal kept in a barge since last Thursday have yet to be unloaded.
Woo said its two power plants consume 1,200 tons of coal and 600 to 800 tons of coal per day, respectively.
Woo said its two power plants consume 1,200 tons of coal and 600 to 800 tons of coal per day, respectively.
KSPC officials and Corpuz met with Capitol’s Engr. Eulogio Pelayre and Provincial Legal Officer Marino Martinquilla yesterday. They again met with the governor late yesterday afternoon.
But the power-producing company still has to face another concern, an alleged violation of the Clean Air Act.
The results of tests by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB7) on ambient air near the firm’s compound exceeded government standards. The KSPC officials were again asked to present a proposal to address air pollution in Naga City.
With Governor Garcia’s order to lift the CDO, the company is focused on implementing the conditions she enumerated.
“There are conditions. During the unloading (of coal), the sprinklers should be working full-time. Another condition is that if the winds are strong, hauling should be stopped,” said Corpuz.
Corpuz said they still have not heard from City of Naga Mayor Val Chiong whether he, too, would lift his order
“We will have to meet with him, maybe before lunchtime,” said Corpuz.
Humanitarian
In a separate interview, Mayor Chiong told Sun.Star Cebu that he earlier conferred with Governor Garcia that they would review the schedule of plans KSPC will present.
“I told Governor Garcia that whatever she decides, if she lifts the CDO, I will also lift my CDO,” said Chiong.
“As much as we have the same objective, to protect the people from the dust emission, we are also doing this for humanitarian reasons. They (KSPC) also have the demurrage payments,” he added.
The demurrage is the payment given to ships for each day that goes beyond the contracted period for unloading shipments.
Garcia and Chiong issued their orders last Friday after a raw coal shipment docked at the KSPC compound, a few hours after KSPC officials pledged that a shipment was not expected until the end of the month and that this would be accommodated unless short-term dust mitigating measures are implemented.
Relieved
Chiong and Naga City residents earlier complained of black dust particles settling on rooftops, furniture and clotheslines, while KSPC was unloading raw coal from a barge.
In response to the complaint, KSPC installed dust suppression measures such as temporary plastic sheets, reduction of the height of the pile of coal in the stockyard and the unloading drop height.
In a press statement, KSPC general counsel Guillermo Dabbay Jr. said company officials “are relieved upon learning of the conditional lifting of the cease-and-desist order of Gov. Gwen Garcia, because the power company can continue fulfilling its commitment to provide electricity for Cebu without interruption.”
He took note the timing of the decision was crucial, as coal supply at the yard will be depleted today.
“We are thankful that the coal yard dust prevention plan finalized by a technical committee… satisfied Governor Garcia and we will religiously abide with the conditions she set, because these ensure prevention of another unfortunate incident that poses dangers to the environment and health of residents of our host community,” said Dabbay.
Contribution
The amount of energy produced by KSPC is significant, according to Department of Energy Visayas Director Antonio Labios.
The two units of coal-fired power plants owned and operated by KSPC are generating a total of 175 megawatts (mw), connected to the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid.
Corpuz added that the second unit is being tested at 75 percent capacity or at 75 mw, while the first unit is fully operational at 100 mw.
Labios pointed out that based on the daily report from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) last Monday, KSPC contributed 175.6 mw in the afternoon and 79 mw around 1 a.m. the next day.
The NGCP forecast for March 25 to 31 is 1,082 mw for the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid with a reserve of 128 mw.
If KSPC fails to contribute power to the grid, the reserve would be reduced.
Lawyer Joel Bontuyan of the Energy Regulatory Commission said the power generated by KSPC is significant and could affect its customers, which include the Negros Island and Cebeco One.
Connected
“We are interconnected. The output of KSPC would affect the integrity of the grid. For example, if there is an area with excess power, there would be another area that would be experiencing a brownout,” he said.
“Even if Veco is not a client of KSPC, the NGCP, as system operator that oversees the integrity of the grid, could possibly demand Veco to shift loads,” he added.
In a separate interview, EMB 7 Director Alan Arranguez said the company has committed another infraction against the Clean Air Act.
EMB7 personnel took ambient air samples in Sitio Seaside, Barangay Poblacion in Naga last March 25 from 1:20 p.m. up 2:20 p.m.
The test for total suspended particulates showed 353 micrograms per cubic meter, which is higher than the government standard of 300 ug/cu.m.
Arranguez said a technical conference will be held today with KSPC officials as well as Naga City officials led by City Administrator Engr. Arthur Villamor.
“They will discuss immediate measures that have to be undertaken (to address the pollution),” Arranguez said.
“We have to re-visit the impact management plan of the company and the environmental monitoring.”
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on March 30, 2011.
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