By Lenie Lectura - February 1, 2019
KEPCO Philippines Corp. (Kephilco)
is keen on pursuing its multibillion-peso 2 x 500 megawatt (MW) coal power
project in Sual, Pangasinan.
Kephilco’s power project was earlier
listed by the Department of Energy (DOE) as one of the indicative power
projects in Luzon. The target commissioning and commercial operation of the
power project is September 2023.
The project cost is estimated at
$1.834 billion or P91.7 billion.
Based on its filing, Kephilco said
there is a “need for the project based on national regional/local economic
development in terms of contribution to sustainable development agenda or
current development thrusts.”
“The proposed project will ensure
the reliable delivery of electricity supply in Luzon in the year 2020 and
beyond. It will be a key infrastructure in sustaining the
development of the country,” it said.
“In as much as coal is still the
cheapest source of power generation, the project will help in maintaining the
current price levels of electricity which is the second highest in Asia,” the
company said.
Moreover, the proposed project is
seen to bring progress in the municipality since it will generate additional
taxes; the local residents will be given priority for employment by the
proposed project; and the plant will provide cheaper and more reliable
electricity to meet future demands. Coal-power plants remain the most reliable
and affordable base load plants in the Philippines.
“Without reliable and affordable
electricity, the economic development may not be achieved,” Kephilco added.
Kephilco said the planned power
project had been scheduled for public posting.
The public scoping is an early stage
in the Environmental Impact Assessment Process where the proponent aims to
provide an overview of the proposed expansion project, present proposed action,
gather issuances and concerns, and other relevant information to provide the
scope of work and terms of reference for the purpose of environmental
impact statement (EIS).
All interested parties,
organizations and agencies are encouraged to provide inputs during the public
scoping and public review period and provide comments.
The originally planned power plant
proposal involved a 3×300 Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) coal-power plant at
the same site. The original proponent was Tans-Asia Oil and Energy Development
Corp. (TA Oil). However, under a memorandum of agreement between TA Oil and
Kepco, the project was turned over to the latter.
The original project has undergone
the initial stages of EIS process with the submission of the EIS draft report
and acceptance thereof by the EIAMD (Environmental Impact Assessment and
Management Division) up through the second Review/Technical Screening when TA
Oil decided to turn over the project to Kephilco.
Kephilco increased the power-plant
capacity to 2 x 500 MW and is utilizing the Advanced Ultra Supercritical
Pulverized Coal Technology (AUSPCT) instead of the CFB technology.
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