RP forges stronger energy tieup with S Korea, Thailand

The Philippines has forged stronger ties with the governments of South Korea and Thailand to promote further cooperation in energy and power sector development.

Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez and Korea’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) Hee-Beom Lee signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday to help the Philippines address electricity demand in the Visayas.

The MOU signing was done at the sidelines of the 22nd ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting being held in Manila.

"We welcome Korea’s move to put up an additional plant in the Philippines, especially so because this will provide additional capacity that will help plug the power supply requirements of Cebu," Perez said.

Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) has signified interest to put up a 200-megawatt (MW) power facility using clean coal technology in Cebu.

The Visayas grid (Cebu-Negros-Panay-Leyte-Samar) grid is being threatened by power supply shortfalls due to increasing demand for electricity. At present, the grid has a total power demand of around 844.30 MW, yet supply is only at 825.20 MW.

Under the MOU, both countries will work together to undertake preparatory works in establishing the plant. Kepco presently owns and operates a 1,200-MW gas-fired power plant in Ilijan and a 650-MW oil-fired power plant in Rizal.

Bilateral discussions between the two ministers also focused on enhanced cooperation in the natural gas industry given that Korea is the world’s second largest importer of liquefied natural gas while the Philippines is raring to take off with the development of its downstream natural gas sector. Korea, through Daewoo, recently donated a compressed natural gas-fired bus for demonstration as the Philippines launched its Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transportation.

Meanwhile, Perez and Thailand’s Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej also discussed the existing cooperation between the two countries, a follow up of the bilateral meeting held between the two ministers in February this year.

Prommin led a 22-man delegation for a two-day visit in the country four months ago. The visit was highlighted by a signing of an agreement between the Philippine National Oil Co. and Thailand’s PTT to implement an earlier MOU signed on energy cooperation.

In the bilateral talks held Wednesday, Perez assured Prommin that the Philippine government fully supports Thailand’s Strategic Energy Land Bridge (SELB) project. The SELB project will provide an option for oil transportation to the region to enhance energy security.