EDC reactivates BacMan units

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez-owned geothermal firm Energy Development Corp. (EDC) has reactivated the first unit of its Bacon-Manito power plant in Albay after it was damaged by Typhoon Glenda last month while the second unit is expected to be operational in October.

“The typhoon-damaged cooling tower is now operational and Unit 1 has attained its rated load of 55 megawatts,” EDC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The 55-MW BacMan Units 1 and 2 went on unplanned outage due to damage caused by the typhoon.

EDC said restoration works for Unit 2 are still ongoing.

The cooling tower restoration works is being carried out concurrently with the installation of a brand-new Toshiba steam turbine rotor unit and diaphragms. The unit is expected to be in operation in October,” EDC said in its disclosure.

The third unit, meanwhile, is currently on a 30-day reliability run following the installation of a brand-new Toshiba generator.

The unit went on planned outage for the installation of the new generator unit.

The BacMan plants are located in the towns of Bacon, Sorsogon and Manito, Albay. EDC has been rehabilitating its units since last year.

In the first half of the year, EDC reported a consolidated recurring net income of P5.4 billion, up 28 percent from a year ago, boosted by the partial operation of the Bac-Man power plants, which the company rehabilitated.

EDC said consolidated revenues rose to P15.2 billion, up by P1.8 billion, or 13 percent, from the P13.4 billion recorded during the same period in 2013.

“This was primarily driven by the P1.5 billion revenue contribution from the BacMan power plant,” EDC president Richard Tantoco has said.

He said the company expects more revenues from the BacMan plants when units 1 and 3 return to service.