Manila Standard Today
By Alena Mae S. Flores | Aug. 06, 2014 at 12:01am
First Gen Corp. said Tuesday it plans to build another 100-megawatt unit of the Avion open cycle natural gas-fired power plant in Batangas City to help the government augment power supply in Luzon next year.
First Gen senior vice president Victor Santos said the first 100-MW unit of Avion plant was expected to be completed early next year and another 100-MW unit might be built if the government would pursue a leasing arrangement with power generators.
The Energy Department earlier raised the possibility of leasing power generation facilities to meet the anticipated power shortage next year through the grant of emergency powers to the President.
“We are targeting to get Avion running by utilizing liquid fuel through commissioning and reliability run in time for the Malampaya [natural gas platform] shutdown. Commercial operations will be around late April,” Santos said.
The Malampaya gas facility off northwest Palawan will undergo a 30-day maintenance shutdown from March 15 to April 14 next year to pave the way for the Malampaya phase 3 development.
Santos, however, said there were currently no discussions on possible leasing of the Avion facility as the terms and conditions were still not yet final.
“Avion will be developed as a merchant plant. We may consider developing Avion 2 when leasing terms becomes final,” Santos said.
Section 71 of Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act allows the President to authorize Congress to establish generating capacity needed to fill a power supply shortage.
First Gen executive vice president Ernesto Pantangco said the company was committed to operating the plant in time for the Malampaya shutdown.
The Avion power plant would be built adjacent to First Gen’s 1,000-MW Santa Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo natural gas-fired power plants in Batangas City. It is expected to be completed at a cost of around $150 million. source
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