MANILA, Philippines - Aboitiz Power Corp. (APC), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Therma Marine Inc. (TMI), has inked an agreement to supply power to Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (DANECO).
DANECO, based in Tagum City, serves the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley.
“Our supply of power to DANECO, our host community for the Mobile 1 power barge, will serve as a form of insurance to meet the needs of the rapid growth of the Tagum area,” APC sales, trading and marketing SVP Miguel Aboitiz said.
“Because diesel power is more expensive than the current supply from Mindanao hydros, we structured the contract to have a fixed and a variable portion. This way, the more expensive energy is only drawn as it is needed, thereby minimizing the impact to DANECO’s consumers,” he said.
The one-year agreement will become effective as soon as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approves the proposed rate.
Based on the agreement, APC will commit to provide DANECO up to 10 megawatts (MW) anytime it requires supply. Power supply will be sourced from TMI’s power barge in Maco, Compostela Valley which currently has a capacity of 100 MW.
“Our contract with TMI aims to normalize the power supply needed by DANECO. In the same way, it will continue to propel the development momentum of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley provinces. DANECO, through the initiative of its management and board of directors, is making this bold move to be the first cooperative in Mindanao to sign with TMI and work towards finding a solution to our power supply problems,” DANECO president Dean Briz said.
TMI owns and operates the power barges in Maco, Compostela Valley and Nasipit, Agusan del Norte. These power barges deliver 200 MW of electric power to the Mindanao grid and can supply electric power to around 200,000 households.