Mindanao power co-ops plan 300-MW coal-fired power plant

MANILA, Philippines - The Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives Power Supply Aggregation Group Corp. (AMRECO) is planning to put up a 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in the island, a top energy official said.

Energy undersecretary Josefina Patricia Asirit said they would assist AMRECO to ensure that the group’s project would be compliant with the environmental requirements of the government.

“The electric cooperatives in Mindanao play a significant role in providing additional power in Mindanao,” she said.

According to Asirit, the proposed base-load power project would help bridge the power supply gap in the island. Base-load power plants operate on a maximum electricity output at all times and at low cost. These plants can be operated by coal, hydro, geothermal, or combined cycle.

“We are monitoring if we could maintain a sufficient supply of power especially the existing hydropower plants in Mindanao (Agus-Pulangi) could not guarantee constant supply,” she said.

By 2012, growth in power demand in Mindanao is projected at 4.56 percent. Next year, she said the committed capacity for Mindanao is only 50 MW and 100 MW in 2013.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras earlier said Mindanao should have at least 500 MW of non-hydro base-load power generation.

“I hope there will be more non-hydro base-load generation projects that will follow. Ideally we should have 500 MW of non-hydro base-load generation in Mindanao,” Almendras told reporters.

“We have always said the reserves in Mindanao are too thin which is why we are rushing base-load plants,”  he said.

Mindanao experienced up to eight hours of power outages amid the summer months last year amid the El Niño weather phenomenon. The drought affected the ability of the hydroelectric plants to deliver electricity. Mindanao relies more than 50 percent of its power needs from hydro plants.