Thursday, June 9, 2011
ENERGY Development Corporation (EDC) will shut down anew the operation of its Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant (NNGPP) in Bago City on July until December this year.
Dwight Maxino, EDC’s vice president for Steamfield Operation for Northern and Southern Negros Geothermal Power Plant, said during the hearing at the Provincial Board Wednesday that the shutdown will give way to the company's ongoing survey to locate the potential productive areas within their bounds, after they failed to generate the full target capacity of 49-megawatt.
In November last year, EDC shut down NNGPP to conduct additional technical studies on plans to increase its capacity.
The power plant was re-commissioned on April 5 this year while the company was conducting an ongoing assessment of initial data from recent technical studies. The study cost P6 million, according to the company.
To date, the company only generates eight to nine megawatts from NNGPP, which it supplies to Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco). Based on the company's power sales contract with Ileco, it is supposed to supply 15 megawatts from NNGPP until December 25, 2012.
Before the year ends, Maxino said they can already determine the available capacity from that plant, adding that, right now, they cannot yet determine the capacity it can generate.
EDC has already infused P8 billion investment on NNGPP, said Manolo Candelaria, EDC’s deputy manager for sales.
He said the company has been losing from the power plant because of low power generation.
When asked about the allegation by some environmentalist groups that the company intends to undertake more drillings and geothermal explorations at the Mount Kanlaon National Park buffer zone, Maxino said, "It’s not possible that we go beyond our bounds. We will not go beyond the buffer zone."
Provincial Board Member Emilio Yulo III, who called the public hearing on the issue, said the provincial officials will review the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Provincial Government and EDC which is supposed to end in December this year.
While the company complied with other warranties stated on the MOA, they failed on the warranty on power security, said Yulo.
“There’s serious doubt regarding the MOA, particularly because one of the basic contentions then was that, the reason we allowed PNOC to come in to the province was supposedly to produce cheap power for the people of Negros,” he added.
“Their original commitment was 49 MW (megawatts). It was brought down to 21 MW. We can settle for 21 MW but the problem is that, with almost six months before 2011 ends, they are producing only 9 MW at its peak,” Yulo said.
Yulo said the Provincial Government is supposed to earn bigger royalties with the generation of the full capacity of 49 megawatts by EDC, as stated in the MOA.
The bottom line is that, the people expect low cost of power with EDC’s geothermal power plant here. As also stated in the MOA, EDC will give priority on their power supply to the province which the company also failed to comply.
“My leaning is towards opposing any further exploration at the buffer zone,” Yulo declared when asked of the possibility for EDC to do more exploration at the buffer zone of the Mt. Kanlaon National Park.
Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on June 09, 2011.
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