GMA Network News
July 21, 2015 10:09pm
After the Department of Energy (DOE) suspended Semirara Mining and Power Corporation operations after nine miners were killed in a landslide, power plants that sourced their coal from the mining company were told to look for other suppliers.
Despite this, and despite the Semirara mine providing 92 percent of the country's total coal production, DOE Usec. Zenaida Monsada said in a Tuesday report on GMA 7's "24 Oras" that the temporary shutdown of the Semirara mine would not affect the power supply.
Semirara still had about 520,000 metric tons of coal in stock, enough to supply power plants for three weeks. "We hope we can be done before [mauubos yung stocks]. Kailangan talaga assured iyong safety [ng mining opearation]," Monsada explained.
The company said its truck and shovel operations were capable of producing 8 million metric tons of coal a year. It also had an installed generating capacity of 600 megawatts (MW) with an additional 1,200 MW in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, Antique Gov. Rhodora Cadiao said that the bodies of all nine victims had been retrieved.
Also, the mining company promised to provide the victims' families with P1 million in financial aid, scholarships, and housing. "Siguro ito rin naman ang gusto ng mga empleyado namin na kaya sila nagtatrabaho para rin sa pamilya nila. So ang unang concern is sa kanila," Semirara's President and Chief Operating Officer Victor Consunji said. — Trish Macas/DVM, GMA News source
No comments:
Post a Comment