EDC hikes Bac-Man output to 60 MW

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the geothermal power arm of the Lopez Group, said yesterday that Unit 2 of its Bacon-Manito (BacMan) power plant in Albay is now operating at 60 megawatts.

This reflects an increase of five-MW from the previous 55 MW.

“Bac-Man Geothermal Inc., the wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Development Corp. that owns and operates the BacMan power plants, is now operating Unit 2 at 60-MW gross, an increase of  five MW,” EDC told the Philippine Stock Exchange in a disclosure.

The increased capacity is a direct result of the upgraded Toshiba turbine design, EDC said.

EDC completed the installation of the brand-new Toshiba steam turbine rotor unit and diaphragms in September 2014.

The BacMan plant consists of Unit 1 (55 MW), Unit 2 (55 MW) and Unit 3 (20 MW).

Last month, the company said all three units of the BacMan plants are now operational after more than a year of delay due to breach of contract on the part of its contractors tapped to rehabilitate the facility.

EDC earlier filed an arbitration case against its contractors before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce but decided later on to discontinue the arbitration following the settlement of the claims.

On Nov. 28 last year, BGI commenced an arbitration administered by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in relation to its dispute with TurboCare, Inc., now known as EthosEnergy TC Inc. and Siemens Inc., the contractors for the project.

BGI tapped the contractors in 2010 to carry out the rehabilitation of the BacMan Units 1 to 3 but disputes arose in relation to the carrying out the rehabilitation.

“The permanent fixes have now been completed on both BacMan Unit 2 and Unit 3, whilst BacMan Unit 1 will continue to operate with its interim solution until Dec. 27, 2014 when it will then be shut down to install the new steam turbine rotor from Toshiba. It is planned that BacMan Unit 1 will be returned to service by March 20, 2015,” EDC earlier said.

In May 2010, EDC acquired the BacMan plant from the government with a winning bid of $28.25 million in an auction conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the agency tasked to handle the privatization of state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor).