By Lenie Lectura - February 29, 2016
REDONDO Peninsula Energy (RP Energy),
led by Meralco PowerGen (MGen), the power-generation arm of Meralco, is likely
to undertake the construction of the 600-megawatt (MW) coal-power plant in
Subic in two phases.
“The last update was we might phase
it, starting with 300 MW, depending on our ability to interconnect with NGCP
[National Grid Corp. of the Philippines],” Meralco Chairman Manuel V.
Pangilinan said.
Latest data from Meralco showed that
construction of the power plant is “within 2016,” with commercial operation
expected “in late 2019.”
It is composed of 2×300-MW
generating units, with a maximum output of 600 MW. There seems to be no effect
at all if RP Energy would initially construct only half of the power
plant’s capacity and the other half at a later date, since “it just takes a few
months before you can start phase 2,” Pangilinan said.
RP Energy has encountered
right-of-way (ROW) problems that led to the delay in the construction.
“The issue is really the areas where
the transmission line passes through from the power plant to the grid. We will
have to review these areas.
“The ideal alignment includes areas
occupied by indigenous people and there are pockets that are reserved areas. We
can’t build on top of that. It’s prohibited,” Pangilinan said. Aboitiz Power
Corp. and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp. are also part of RP Energy.
Earlier, AboitizPower President and
COO Antonio Moraza said a possible solution to the ROW problem has been
identified.
“We have to connect to the Hermosa
[transmission line] and I think the problem is from Hermosa to Castillejos. And
I understand that a possible solution has been found for that. I cannot
elaborate more because it’s not a solution yet,” he said.
The Energy Regulatory Commission
(ERC) in May last year approved RP Energy’s application for the Redondo
Peninsula energy to Castillejos’s 230-kilovolt line.
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