PSI’s 20-MW power plant to go online this month

Manila Times
October 20, 2014 10:10 pm
by RITCHIE A. HORARIO REPORTER

THE 20-megawatt (MW) bunker-fired power plant of Peakpower Socsargen Inc. (PSI) in General Santos City is set to go online this month.
PSI President Roel Castro said the firm is about to complete its testing and commissioning of the power facility located inside the compound of local electric distributor South Cotabato Electric Cooperative II (SOCOTECO II) in Barangay Apopong, General Santos City.
“The power plant will be ready to go online this month as committed. This will help ensure power supply stability in the city and the neighboring areas,” Castro said, adding that the power plant will supply the peaking power demands of SOCOTECO II consumers.
PSI, a subsidiary of Peakpower Energy Inc. (PEI), signed a power supply and transfer agreement with SOCOTECO II in March 2013. Under the deal, PEI committed to build-operate and maintain-transfer a bunker-fired power plant in the franchise area of SOCOTECO II.
PEI is a joint venture of A. Brown Co. Inc., Enterprise Holdings Corp., World Power Alliance Ltd., and Power Mavens Holdings Ltd.
SOCOTECO II supplies electricity to Socsargen (South Cotabato, Sarangani and General Santos). The whole franchise area of SOCOTECO II requires a daily peak power demand of 120 MW.
“Electric power consumers, especially those in the business sector, will no longer have to worry about power outages due to inadequate generation capacities specially during peak hours,” Castro said.
SOCOTECO II President Elenito Senit said around 93 percent of their residential customers will benefit from PSI’s power plant.
“We are looking forward to start operating this power plant since we know that given the huge peaking requirements of our franchise area, this is one way we can show our customers that we are doing the best we can to serve them better,” Senit said.
Every summer in the last few years, the whole franchise area of SOCOTECO II suffers daily rotational brownouts lasting up to eight hours due to insufficient power supply. This critical power situation has had massive impact on the operations of businesses and industries in the area.
Raul Josefino Miguel, president of General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., said that for many years their group has been urging SOCOTECO II to build an embedded power plant.
With the power plant’s operation, Miguel said customers in the business sector could maintain their required level of economic activities because they are assured of adequate power supply.
“We in the chamber welcome this improvement in the power supply situation because this will help us operate our businesses more efficiently,” he added. source