Manila Standard Today
NAGA CITY, Cebu—President Benigno Aquino III on Monday inaugurated a 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant that is expected to provide the Visayas reliable and affordable electricity.
The power plant in Colon village is a joint venture of Korea Electric Power Company-Philippines and SPC Power Corp.
“Kepco today provides 11 percent of the country’s generation capacity, which I am sure will rise in the coming months with this inauguration,” Mr. Aquino said.
“This power plant will make certain the energy requirement in this part of our country will be met.”
The President said the frequent power downtime in the Visayas was stalling the region’s economic growth, “But that time is over.”
The new power plant would generate more than enough power to meet peak demand in the region this year, he said.
The coal-fired power plant has committed 92 percent of its capacity to eight electric cooperatives and two distribution utilities, and the rest to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
“Our power plant could provide Cebu and other areas in the Visayas with reliable, stable, affordable and cleaner power until the local economy is strong enough to afford renewable energy sources on a wider scale,” KSPC president Bok-Yull Lee said.
The $451-million power plant uses technology that reduces the greenhouse emissions it generates. It is expected to supply 11.24 percent of the requirements of the Visayas Grid and improve the power supply to Cebu, Panay and Negros.
“During its three years of construction, the plant contributed greatly to the Philippines’ economy by hiring an average of about 2,000 local workers a day, while also helping resolve the problem of power shortages,” Kepco said in a statement Monday. Joyce Pangco Pañares, Jeremiah F. de Guzman
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