DMCI unit to build Palawan power plant

MANILA, Philippines - Consunji-led DMCI Power Corp. has bagged a contract to build a diesel-fired power plant that will provide additional electricity in Palawan.

Three new coal-fired power plants will be built in Palawan to cater to growing demand in the province, a company official said.

“DMCI Power was announced yesterday as the winning bidder for the 25-megawatt (MW) power plant of Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO),” the company said in a disclosure.

The power firm submitted the lowest bid, with true cost generation rate at P9.38 per kilowatt-hour, it added.

“Required capacity is 25 MW by September next year. We will put up the diesel-fueled power plant in Palawan,” DMCI Power president Nestor Davidas said in a phone interview.

Davidas said the company prefers coal-fired power plants but Palawan is already in need of additional power supply.

Early this month, the Puerto Princesa city council declared a state of emergency given power outages in the province.

DMCI Power, for its part, will build coal-fired power plants in Palawan due to high operating costs of the diesel plant.

Davidas said DMCI Power will start commercial operations of a 15-MW coal plant in October 2014. Another 15-MW power plant will start producing electricity in 2017.

Davidas said the company is also looking for a third 15-MW facility that will use the “circulating fluidized bed” technology that is more environment friendly.

The Consunjis earlier announced their plan to put up 7.5-MW coal-fired power plant in the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) areas.

State-run National Power Corp.’s unit SPUG is mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to undertake the electrification of remote villages or areas not connected to the main transmission grid in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

There are 14 areas under SPUG including Catanduanes, Romblon, Siquijor, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan that are under review prior to privatization.

To date, the Consunjis, through Semirara Mining Corp., has been operating a SPUG in Masbate for two years already.