AP to advance funds for Davao plant

Manila Times.net

ABOITIZ Power Corp. (AP) plans to shoulder the entire cost of its proposed coal-fired power plant in Davao to fast-track its construction.

Manuel Orig, AP Mindanao affairs first vice president, said the company is ready to pour in the P25 billion needed to put up a 300-megawatt coal plant as a long-term solution to the region’s power woes.

“The region needs a steady supply of power to fuel its growth, as industries, investments and businesses expand. This in turn, will provide livelihood and development to communities. As communities and households increase, so will their demand for electrical power as well,” Orig said.

Government estimates show that unless power supply generation is increased, Mindanao would face a shortage soon. By 2014, the shortage will be around 480 megawatts, enough to cut off the entire electricity supply to the cities of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Zamboanga and Butuan.

Orig said that unless AP’s proposed power plant is constructed soon, the supply situation in Mindanao will become more precarious, especially as 2011 enters the dry summer season.

Dry months usually bring down the water level in Lake Lanao, lowering the energy-generating capacity of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex, the lifeblood of Mindanao’s power supply.

In response to concerns that coal plants could foul up the region’s environment, Orig said AP will employ the latest technologies to curb the proposed facility’s emissions.

AP also plans to put up more hydroelectric power plants in the next two years on top of the five similar projects it started in 2011.

In Davao, AP is set to construct the Tudaya 1 (6.6-megawatt, upstream of Sibulan A) and Tudaya 2 (7-megawatt, downstream of Sibulan B) in August. Both are expected to go online by December 2012.

Two other hydropower plants in Kitawtaw, Bukidnon—the 18-megawatt Sita and 12-megawatt Simod—are due for completion in 2013. In Luzon, the Irisan 3.8-megawatt hydropower facility in Benguet is set to be completed by September.

“We need to get the right mix of power from different sources so that even in the summer or during El Niño, Mindanao will have reliable power,” Orig said.

AP shares closed at P31.55 apiece on Friday, up from P31.00 the day before.

Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo