Manila Times.net
Published : Tuesday, November 08, 2011 00:00 Written by : Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
MANILA Electric Co. is laying the groundwork for the construction of additional power plants.
Angelito Lantin, Meralco senior vice president, said wholly-owned unit Meralco PowerGen Corp. has started looking for potential power projects to complement the coal plant it will be putting up at the Subic Freeport.
“We’re looking at an additional coal plant, a small gas facility and some renewables. There is nothing yet concrete in the pipeline we are just exploring,” he said.
Meralco distributes electricity in Metro Manila and parts of its outlying provinces, an area that produces over half of the country’s economic output.
The company earlier established Meralco PowerGen in a bid to reduce its rates and secure its electricity supply.
Under current regulations, distributors like Meralco can source electricity from its own power plants provided they do not exceed more than half of their total requirements.
Meralco PowerGen’s first project is a 600-megawatt coal plant in Subic that is projected to commence commercial operations in 2014.
The company is putting up the facility with Aboitiz Power Corp. and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp.
Lantin said Meralco PowerGen plans to put several more power plants across the country to boost the company’s portfolio but may consider doing some on its own.
“Our mandate is 2,000 megawatts for Meralco Power Gen. If it is a small enough plant maybe we can do it by ourselves but if it is big it is better to have a partner,” he said.
The company is open to all potential sites in Luzon for its generating plants, which would help improve the region’s supply amid a projected shortfall within the next five years.
“The site has to be somewhere that is not densely populated, close to a transmission facility to avoid long transmission lines and depending on the fuel has to be close to the sea. It depends on a lot of factors,” Lantin said.
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