Malaya availability ‘uncertain’

Business World Online
Posted on October 13, 2014 10:58:00 PM
By Claire-Ann M. C. Feliciano, Senior Reporter

ONE POTENTIAL mitigating measure for the looming power shortage goes down the drain after the government claimed that full availability of the 650-megawatt (MW) Malaya thermal power plant could not be assured for the summer months of next year.

In a statement yesterday, state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) outlined the challenges hounding the full operations of the power facility located in Pililla, Rizal.

“The technical difficulties encountered by Malaya thermal power plant make its availability and dependability from March to June 2015 uncertain,” Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr., PSALM president and chief executive, said.

While not being highlighted as a major solution to the looming power problem next year, the Malaya plant was regarded by the Energy department as a potential contributor to avoid crippling outages next year.

The 40-year-old Malaya facility has a 300-MW unit and a 350-MW unit, but these only have dependable capacities of 290 MW and 340 MW, respectively.

PSALM said the first unit has been non-operational since March due to a turbine problem. The state-run firm is currently undertaking the procurement process for the overhaul of the facility, which is expected to take around 90 days.

The contract is set to be awarded within this month upon completion of the post-qualification of the only eligible bid submitted by Korea’s STX Marine Service Co. Ltd.

“However, it is very likely that, upon actual opening of the unit by the contractor, a more extensive damage would be discovered,” PSALM said, adding that this would result in an extended completion period.

Meanwhile, the second unit has been running after the completion of repairs earlier this month. But PSALM emphasized that it is also due for overhauling.

“Even assuming that the repair of Malaya unit 1 shall have been successful, Malaya’s 100% reliable operation still cannot be guaranteed, given its age, continuous and longer dispatch at full capacity, and fuel delivery constraints,” PSALM said.

If fuel storage tanks of the facility are filled to its maximum 68-million-liter capacity -- with daily replenishment of 750,000 liters per day -- the two power plant units can only run for 22 days at maximum load of 300 MW each.

PSALM said the units can also run for 38 days but with an average load of 200 MW each only; or 70 days with 130-MW minimum load each.

Given the situation of the Malaya facility, the government has to work around the available options to address the anticipated problem next year.

The Energy department estimates some 900 MW will be needed -- covering the deficit and required reserves -- to prevent potentially crippling outages between March and June next year.

President Benigno S. C. Aquino III last month invoked the power crisis provision of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, asking both chambers of Congress to issue a authorize the government to contract additional capacity.

While a joint resolution has yet to be issued, the Senate and House of Representatives have already manifested that the government may have to settle with a watered-down version of the authority needed.

The House Energy committee hopes to secure by the end of the month plenary approval of a proposed joint resolution containing various options the Executive can tap, while its Senate counterpart has opposed such flexibility and instead kept on pushing for the interruptible load program (ILP).

The ILP is a measure that allows big consumers to run their own generating sets to ease power demand in exchange for compensation

Business groups earlier this month expressed confidence that up to 700 MW can be enrolled under the ILP before the Dec. 19 deadline that the Energy department set for the participants to voluntarily sign up under the program.  source