GBPC eyes 3rd plant in Iloilo to meet more power demand

business mirror

SUNDAY, 15 JULY 2012 19:10 PAUL ANTHONY A. ISLA / REPORTER

THE Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC), the power generation arm of the Metrobank Group, is considering looking at setting up a third power plant in Iloilo, Arthur Aguilar, the company president, told reporters.

The GBPC official said power consumption in Iloilo has gone up considerably and that they are looking into the projections in the next three to four years.

“We’ll actually study the possibility of putting the third plant in Iloilo,” he said.

Aguilar made it clear they will still have to complete the feasibility study for the 82-megawatt (MW) plant they plan to put in Iloilo.  He said they expect the study to be done soon while construction of the power plant, if ever feasible, will take about 30 to 36 months.

Aguilar said they expect the growth in demand to be driven by business process outsourcing and real estate sectors.

“Because of the presence of consistent reliable power there that’s cost effective from our 82-MW coal fired plant, business has really picked up in Iloilo,” he said.

Aguilar said they are interested in putting up a power plant in Mindanao since it has an insufficient power supply. He said they would rather build a new coal-fired power plant in Mindanao than to bid for any of the plants the government plans to privatize.

Aguilar said he thinks Mindanao would need another 300-400 MW in the next few years.

The GBPC earlier said it signed an agreement with Carmen Copper Corp. for the supply of up to 60 MW of electricity beginning Dec. 26, 2014.

Under the terms of the agreement, Toledo said it would design, engineer, finance, and construct an 82-MW clean coal-fired power plant as an expansion of its existing coal plant in Daanlungsod, Toledo City, Cebu.

The new power plant, Toledo said, will supply much-needed power to Carmen Copper to address the projected increase in its power requirements as a result of the expansion of its mining operations.

Carmen Copper is a subsidiary of Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp.

Toledo has been in the business of power generation for the past 43 years, which was initially built to serve the electric power requirements of the Toledo Copper Mine Complex.

When the mines closed in the mid-1990s, Toledo was sold to Global Power (then Mirant Global Corp.) where it served the power requirements of Cebu City, Toledo City and the Cebu Industrial Park located in Balamban, Cebu.

The inking of the power supply agreement with Carmen Copper is a homecoming of sorts for Toledo, having come full circle to fulfill its primary duty to support mining operations in Toledo City thereby revitalizing the economy in the region.

With the proposed expansion of the Toledo Power facility, Global Power seeks to respond to the projected increase in power demand in the area and provide more efficient energy by replacing the current coal facility with a state-of-the-art power facility utilizing one of the latest, environment-friendly, clean coal technologies–the Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boiler, which is further to its commitment  to ensure sufficiency of power supply in the Visayas.   source