Semirara eyes shift to coal-fired power plants in off-grid areas

Business Mirror

Published on Tuesday, 14 May 2013 19:41

Written by VG Cabuag

SEMIRARA Mining Corp plans to put up coal-fired power plants in off-grid areas to replace existing facilities that run on bunker fuel.

Isidro A. Consunji, vice chairman and chief executive officer of the country’s biggest coal miner, said the company is interested in putting up power plants in islands and far-flung areas that the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) of state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) serve.

“Sasalihan namin lahat ng SPUG, lahat ng off-grid.  “We will join SPUG projects, especially those in off-grid areas.  Kasi we want to convert from oil to coal,” he said.

Napocor-SPUG supplies power to locations not connected to the main grid. The state-owned firm uses diesel-fired generating sets.

Consumers in the main grid subsidize SPUG’s operations because of the high cost of running such power facilities in such small markets.

Among the SPUG areas that Semirara plans to vie for initially are Palawan (30 megawatts), Masbate (15 MW) and Mindoro (30 MW).

Consunji said converting to coal will reduce subsidies that everyone else is extending to residents in off-grid areas.

“For every 1-kilowatt, coal is about P2 and diesel is about P10. So P8 per kW ang nadi-displace mo. So one 15-megawatt plant will displace 70 million kW-hours a year. A 15-MW plant will save the country P560 million a year,” he said.

To allay concerns about the negative impact of coal-fed plants on human health and the environment, Consunji said such facilities have been used in the country for nearly three decades and that technology has evolved to reduce emissions. 

“Kung madumi ang coal then why would Calaca allow expansions?” he said, referring to the host community of the company’s coal plant in Batangas.   source