Business World Online
Posted on March 06, 2011 10:32:53 PM
POWER distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is in discussions with liquefied natural gas (LNG) players to add natural gas to its planned power generation portfolio.
publicly listed Manila Electric Co. wants to have 1,500 megawatts of its own power generation capacity in five years.
Meralco Chief Operating Officer Oscar S. Reyes told reporters the company was studying the possibility of using liquefied natural gas for its power plants.
“We are in [the] early stages of discussions with liquefied natural gas players and partners. We are in discussions with the Department of Energy (DoE),” said Mr. Reyes.
“The country has to diversify its generation plants [as] we are heavily reliant on a single type,” he added.
The government is promoting the use of natural gas in power generation to increase the utilization of output from the Malampaya natural gas fields. The DoE had pointed out that natural gas is a cheaper and more environmentally safe alternative to traditional power sources like fossil fuel.
Mr. Reyes said Meralco was studying the possibility of converting an existing power plant to use natural gas or to build a new one.
“The only ones you can convert into a gas-fired power plant are the old plants like the Sucat [thermal power plant] and Malaya [thermal power plant in Rizal.] I think [they] could be part of the liquefied natural gas [portfolio] but we have to look at whether it’s more cost-effective to re-power rather than to build new plants,” said Mr. Reyes.
The distribution utility announced last year plans to enter the power generation business. It is currently in the process of incorporating a holding company that will handle all power generation projects.
Its first power generation project will be a 150-megawatt (MW) “aero-derivative” power plant to be located in Calamba, Laguna, which will cost P6.6 billion-P7 billion.
Meralco, which is now controlled by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is targeting a total power generating capacity of 1,500 MW, estimated to cost about $2 billion-$2.3 billion over five years.
For the year 2010, Meralco’s consolidated net income grew by 74% to P12.2 billion compared with P7 billion the year previous. Consolidated net income went up by 61% to P9.7 billion from P6 billion.
Shares in Meralco closed last week at P230.00 apiece, down by 0.43% from its previous close of P231.00 a piece.
Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a unit of the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT, has a minority stake in BusinessWorld. -- Emilia Narni J. David
“We are in [the] early stages of discussions with liquefied natural gas players and partners. We are in discussions with the Department of Energy (DoE),” said Mr. Reyes.
“The country has to diversify its generation plants [as] we are heavily reliant on a single type,” he added.
The government is promoting the use of natural gas in power generation to increase the utilization of output from the Malampaya natural gas fields. The DoE had pointed out that natural gas is a cheaper and more environmentally safe alternative to traditional power sources like fossil fuel.
Mr. Reyes said Meralco was studying the possibility of converting an existing power plant to use natural gas or to build a new one.
“The only ones you can convert into a gas-fired power plant are the old plants like the Sucat [thermal power plant] and Malaya [thermal power plant in Rizal.] I think [they] could be part of the liquefied natural gas [portfolio] but we have to look at whether it’s more cost-effective to re-power rather than to build new plants,” said Mr. Reyes.
The distribution utility announced last year plans to enter the power generation business. It is currently in the process of incorporating a holding company that will handle all power generation projects.
Its first power generation project will be a 150-megawatt (MW) “aero-derivative” power plant to be located in Calamba, Laguna, which will cost P6.6 billion-P7 billion.
Meralco, which is now controlled by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is targeting a total power generating capacity of 1,500 MW, estimated to cost about $2 billion-$2.3 billion over five years.
For the year 2010, Meralco’s consolidated net income grew by 74% to P12.2 billion compared with P7 billion the year previous. Consolidated net income went up by 61% to P9.7 billion from P6 billion.
Shares in Meralco closed last week at P230.00 apiece, down by 0.43% from its previous close of P231.00 a piece.
Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a unit of the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT, has a minority stake in BusinessWorld. -- Emilia Narni J. David
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