Alcantara power delivers 176-MW supply

Manila Bulletin 
Published: May 20, 2013 
Alsons Power Corporation – the Alcantara Group’s power project development and power generation management business unit – said yesterday all three of its Mindanao-based diesel power plants produced up to 176 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the Mindanao grid on Election Day on May 13.
Alsons issued this statement in light of issues of power interruptions that occurred during the midterm elections.
In a statement, Alsons Power’s three operating diesel plants in Mindanao – the Mapalad Power Corporation (MPC) plant in Iligan City, the Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SPPC) plant in Alabel, Sarangani, and the Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) plant in Zamboanga City – were all put on a 24-hour alert starting May 12 by the Alcantara Group so they could fully supply any contingency requirement to ensure the uninterrupted conduct of the elections on May 13 until the transmission of the results.
All three power facilities were placed on full alert from 12 a.m. of Sunday May 12 until 12 a.m. of Tuesday May 14. All leaves for plant personnel were cancelled and all essential operations personnel were on duty during this time to ensure that the plants were ready to address any contingency related to power supply. Procedures were also initiated in all three facilities to ensure the adequacy of fuel supply. All engines were also placed on “hot’ mode. The heightened operation of these diesel plants helped ensure a steady supply of uninterrupted power for Iligan City, Zamboanga City, and other key areas of Mindanao during the election period.
On Election Day, the Mapalad Plant provided 26 MW of electricity to Iligan City and other key localities in Mindanao. Iligan City, which has 1,099 polling precincts and over 138,177 registered voters, experienced no brownout during this period.
Since the Alcantara Group operating under the name of Mapalad Power assumed control of and began rehabilitation work on the 20-year–old, 98-MW Iligan plant on March 11, five of its 18 diesel engines have been fully repaired, rehabilitated and brought on line.
The MPC plant commenced operating on a ramp up basis on April 2013 and began producing at least 10 MW for delivery to its client distribution utilities in Mindanao last May 6. The Alcantara Group is spending P 1.2 billion for the acquisition, rehabilitation, and other expenses for the re-operation of the MPC plant.
By the end of May 2013, MPC will bring four more diesel engines online, with all the nine operating engines producing at least 40 MW of electricity by June 2013. The Iligan diesel plant will complete delivery of its full 98 MW capacity by September 2013, the company said.   source