| By Mary Ann LL Reyes (The Philippine Star) Updated March 04, 2011 12:00 AM |
MANILA, Philippines – Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is about to conclude a joint venture agreement for the construction of a 300-megawatt baseload coal-fired power plant as part of the power distribution utility’s move to go into power generation.
Meralco president Manuel V. Pangilinan said that the coal plant is targeted for completion by 2014-2015.
But he refused to reveal the joint venture partner as well as the cost of the project until after the negotiations are concluded.
Aside from the coal plant, Meralco is also building a 150-MW peaking plant (combined cycle diesel/gas) which is expected to be online by the second quarter of 2012.
The company is also negotiating additional 150-MW peaking and 300-MW base load capacities while a 600-MW mid-merit plant is under consideration, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) president Jose Ma. Lim revealed yesterday. MIPC, through its power unit, has a sizable 41-percent stake in Meralco.
Lim also revealed that a team has been organized to prepare a strategy for the implementation of open access by 2013, in preparation for retail electricity sales.
This as top company officials revealed that aside from the P45-billion budget from 2011 to 2014 for investments in distribution, they also anticipate a $2.3-billion price tag on the 1,500 MW of power which Meralco wants to generate, as the company ventures once again into power generation.
Pangilinan earlier said that rather than just acquiring existing power plants, they prefer to build new capacity. “We need to add more supply to be able to manage the rates. The tighter the supply, the higher are the prices. And everytime, Meralco gets blamed for the higher rates when in fact, we are simply order takers. We want to be able to manage the supply. Also, Meralco’s profit increase is plateauing so we need to look for new sources of revenues. We want to acquire or invest in distribution utilities and get into power generation to enhance our profits,” he added.
For his part, Meralco COO Oscar Reyes pointed out that the objective of going into power generation is to contribute to better reliability, availability and affordability of electricity. “But we will go into it if we are cost-competitive. The intent is to do it in partnership with others,” he said.
Reyes emphasized that there has been no increase in generation capacity since the early 2000s. “The newest plants, which were built eight to 10 years ago, are already in need of maintenance, their dependability has become lower, and the reserves are expected to get tighter in the next few years. Before, most of the generation came from government but due to its financial situation, it has left this matter to the private sector. Now, if there’s a shortage, Meralco will be the first to be blamed. We have to be part of the solution to make sure that the capacity is in place,” he said.
Meralco president Manuel V. Pangilinan said that the coal plant is targeted for completion by 2014-2015.
But he refused to reveal the joint venture partner as well as the cost of the project until after the negotiations are concluded.
Aside from the coal plant, Meralco is also building a 150-MW peaking plant (combined cycle diesel/gas) which is expected to be online by the second quarter of 2012.
The company is also negotiating additional 150-MW peaking and 300-MW base load capacities while a 600-MW mid-merit plant is under consideration, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) president Jose Ma. Lim revealed yesterday. MIPC, through its power unit, has a sizable 41-percent stake in Meralco.
Lim also revealed that a team has been organized to prepare a strategy for the implementation of open access by 2013, in preparation for retail electricity sales.
This as top company officials revealed that aside from the P45-billion budget from 2011 to 2014 for investments in distribution, they also anticipate a $2.3-billion price tag on the 1,500 MW of power which Meralco wants to generate, as the company ventures once again into power generation.
Pangilinan earlier said that rather than just acquiring existing power plants, they prefer to build new capacity. “We need to add more supply to be able to manage the rates. The tighter the supply, the higher are the prices. And everytime, Meralco gets blamed for the higher rates when in fact, we are simply order takers. We want to be able to manage the supply. Also, Meralco’s profit increase is plateauing so we need to look for new sources of revenues. We want to acquire or invest in distribution utilities and get into power generation to enhance our profits,” he added.
For his part, Meralco COO Oscar Reyes pointed out that the objective of going into power generation is to contribute to better reliability, availability and affordability of electricity. “But we will go into it if we are cost-competitive. The intent is to do it in partnership with others,” he said.
Reyes emphasized that there has been no increase in generation capacity since the early 2000s. “The newest plants, which were built eight to 10 years ago, are already in need of maintenance, their dependability has become lower, and the reserves are expected to get tighter in the next few years. Before, most of the generation came from government but due to its financial situation, it has left this matter to the private sector. Now, if there’s a shortage, Meralco will be the first to be blamed. We have to be part of the solution to make sure that the capacity is in place,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment