Kephilco to start construction of Cebu power plant project in May

Kepco Philippines Corp. (Kephilco), a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corp., will start the construction of its Cebu coal-fired power plant in May this year.

Kephilco manager business development Soon Chan Ahn said the power plant, which is to be jointly built with Salcon Power Corp., will start commissioning after 33 months or by 2010.

Ahn said they are currently readying supply contract with possible offtakers for the coal-fired facility.

Among the possible offtakers, Ahn said, are electric cooperatives from Cebu and Negros.

He said they would also apply with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the tariff that would be used by the power plant.

The 200-MW Cebu-Naga project is a coal-fired power plant that will utilize clean coal technology that limits nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide emissions at environmentally-friendly levels.

According to the Kephilco official, by 2007, they would try to energize 200 barangays in North Luzon, Palawan, Cebu.

Recently, Kang-Won Lee, the new president and CEO of Kepco, made a courtesy call to Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla to reiterate their company’s commitment to continuing their business operations in the country.

"We appreciate Kepco’s commitment to continue their operations in the country, particularly of the 200-MW Cebu-Naga power plant project. They have also reiterated their commitment to carry on with their rural electrification project, which involves energizing 200 barangays for this year alone," Lotilla said.

Kepco has already helped energize 200 barangays in different areas of the country in previous years.

The 200 barangays they will electrify this year constitute the first batch of 500 barangays they pledged to energize in 2005. They will work with electric cooperatives from Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Kalinga Apayao, Samar, Ticao Island in Masbate, Palawan, and Cebu to complete the project this year.         

Lotilla also encouraged Kepco to explore other investment opportunities in the country’s energy sector, particularly in the Mindanao and Panay islands. The company likewise expressed interest in renewable sources of power in the country.

Kepco’s Philippine operations include the Kephilco, which operates the 650-MW Malaya Thermal Power Plant in Barangay Malaya, Pilillia Rizal, and the Kepco Ilijan Corp. (KEILCO), which operates the 1,200-MW Ilijan Combined Cycle Power Plant in Ilijan, Batangas.

KEPHILCO and KEILCO power plants currently provide approximately one seventh (1/7) of the Philippines’ installed generation capacity.