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TUESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2012 19:40 PAUL ANTHONY ISLA
THE government-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) is set to put up an additional 8 megawatts (MW) of capacity to supply the requirements of the Palawan Electric Cooperative’s franchise area in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Froilan Tampinco, Napocor president, said on Tuesday.
He said Napocor will fill the supply gap prior to the completion of DMCI Power Corp.’s 25-MW diesel plant by next year. DMCI won the bid to supply 25 MW to Paleco at a rate of P9.38 per kilowatt-hour.
Tampinco said construction of DMCI’s power plant will take time and that there will be a gap in supply.
Tampinco said Paleco requested Napocor to bridge the gap in power supply from December 2012 to October 2013.
Tampinco said Napocor has an existing 10-MW capacity in Puerto Princesa under contract with Paleco, and that the additional capacity will come through the rental of generating sets.
“We will need to add another 8 MW to that existing supply. And the problem is this has not been anticipated, because, all the while, we thought Paleco was undertaking its bidding process,” he said.
Tampinco said Paleco had delays in bidding out its power requirements, which prompted Napocor to provide additional supply.
“If there wasn’t any delay, we would not be required to bring in that additional 8 MW. And the resources needed will not be available in the present budget and anticipated budget next year,” Tampinco said. He said the Napocor board will discuss how to raise funds for the additional 8-MW capacity, which will come from renting the generating sets.
“We have to go to board, if there is extra funding to be sourced from national government.
We are also asking assistance from the local government to help in putting up the extra capacity.
We also have to involve the provincial government because it will also be for the benefit of Palawan,” he said.
The Department of Energy (DOE) earlier said it has been in constant discussion with Napocor and the management of Paleco about the latter’s situation.
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