Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
Without it admitting
yet that it might have missed planning trajectories, the Department of Energy
(DOE) is finally stepping up into inviting new power projects to satiate the
country’s long-term energy needs.
With the “ Build,
Build, Build” infrastructure development paradigm being pushed by the Duterte
administration coupled with a growing economy, it is highly manifest that the
country’s energy demand will be on a continuous uptrend in the coming years.
DOE Undersecretary
Felix William B. Fuentebella sounded off appeals through the media for power
investors “to start adding capacities as the country’s energy demand has been
on the rise.”
That was the same
invitation that Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi had been voicing out not just
to domestic power investors, but even to foreign companies in his trips
overseas – primarily the Chinese and Japanese companies that he has been
courting to invest in “merchant power plants” in the country.
The energy chief said
his invitation to Chinese firms had been as early as 2016 – during President
Rodrigo Duterte’s first state visit in China, he reinforced that in the recent
one, but until now these have yet to yield any concrete result.
“For China, that was 2016 or 2017, we already
had our MOU (memorandum of understanding) and then they came here and they did
a study. They said one plant is to be sited in the Visayas and another in
Luzon,” the energy chief said. Nevertheless, actual project blueprints had not
been cast to-date.
Cusi qualified the
Chinese firm had been looking at putting up “merchant power plants” that will
lean on coal technology – meaning, there shall be no bilateral contracts or
off-take agreements on their generated electricity.
When the media asked
why after three years the Chinese firm had not concretized any investment yet,
Cusi is uncertain as to the intervening factors as he noted that his discussion
was with the National Energy Administration (NEA) of China, which he claimed is
the counterpart agency of the Philippine DOE.
And, during another
visit to Japan, he extended the same invitation for “merchant plants” to the
Japanese investors in his discussions with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
industry (METI).
“I also invited the
Japanese because they might say why are we just inviting the Chinese, so the
first time the President went to japan, during the METI meeting, I also asked
that for merchant power plants – that the Japanese can invest here,” Cusi said.
As it stands today
though, most of the power plant investments committed to the country are still
to the credit of the past administration – and for now, Cusi is still counting
on the targeted coal plants of the Chinese investors as his possible
accomplishment on the power investment invitation domain.
By classification,
“committed power projects” are those plants that are already shovel-ready – and
complete with financial closing and engagement of engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) contractor.
Under Cusi’s tenure at
the department, there is not a single project that has reached such phase –
and, if the DOE cannot fix the scenario of strained supply before the end of
Duterte’s term, this administration will be leaving the legacy of a power
crisis.
In the recent China
visit of Duterte, four energy-related projects have been signed, including the
contract agreement for China Energy Co. Ltd, to construct the proposed
250-megawatt South Pulangui hydroelectric power project in Mindanao grid.
The rest are renewable
energy investments and a planned US$1.5-billion petrochemical refinery, but
there is none on the merchant coal-fired power projects being wished for by the
energy secretary.
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