Therma South power plant nears completion

Sunstar Cagayan de Oro
By Butch D. Enerio
Wednesday, August 6, 2014

THE Mindanao grid will soon have massive additional power supply as the 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant Therma South Energy Project (TSEP) of Aboitiz Power (AP) Corp., nears completion.

In a statement, AP said that as of June 2014, the power plant project is 88 percent complete with more than 3,500 workers on site working round-the-clock on the project and would be commercially operational by first half of 2015.

“We are looking forward to our testing and commissioning phase of the plant within the year,” TSEP President and COO Benjamin A. Cariaso Jr. said.

Cariaso said that with the additional load more than 20 electric cooperatives and distribution utilities – from Zamboanga peninsula, to Caraga, Cotabato, Sarangani, Bukidnon and Davao region, which have contracts with Therma South – will have ample supply of electricity.

Key cities like Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, Tagum, Kidapawan, Gen. Santos and Cotabato will also be receiving much needed power supply once Therma South starts operations.

"With the completion of our project, we will be able to supply reliable baseload power to most of Mindanao and alleviate the effects of the power shortage in the island," Cariaso added.

By being a baseload, Therma South can operate almost 24/7 and is not dependent on weather conditions, vital in complementing Mindanao's power supply which is heavily dependent on hydro that supplies 51 percent of the island's power.

During summer months and extreme dry weather, Mindanao's power supply is extremely hampered.

Already anticipating the further expansion of Mindanao's population and economy, Therma South has already received the support of Davao City and neighboring Sta. Cruz, Davao City to expand its plant capacity from 300 to 645 MW. source