Energy World readies Quezon power plant

MANILA, Philippines - Energy World Corp. (EWC), an Australia listed energy company, is aiming to have the first 200 megawatt unit of its natural gas-fired power plant in Quezon ready by the middle of the year.

“We’re trying (to have it) in the middle of the year…Construction is ongoing,” Energy World chairman and chief executive officer Stewart Elliott said in a recent interview.

The second 200-MW unit may be completed in December, he said.

Elliott expressed optimism on the plant’s viability, saying there’s enough demand in the Philippines even with competition coming from coal-fired power plants.

“There’s enough demand in this country. We can compete with coal,” he said.

Furthermore, he added that in terms of impact on the environment, EWC’s planned gas plant is much better than coal-fired power plants.

In December last year, EWC informed the Australian Stock Exchange that it has received its environmental clearance certificate and its two sets of 200 MW turbine and generators have arrived in October.

The plan is for the additional 250 MW steam turbine package to be phased into development by yearend 2015 or early 2016. In all, the total capacity of the plant will be 650 MW.

EWC executive director Brian Allen said last year that the company has accelerated its work program to have the project ready by the summer of this year.

“Under the accelerated program, we hope to have the first 200 MW unit ready for generating power into the Luzon grid by early next year 2015 and the second 200 MW unit to come online shortly thereafter,” Allen earlier said.

But Elliott said the project could not be considered delayed because there has been no binding timetable that EWC violated.

There is a projected power shortage of at least 700 MW this summer because of higher demand and insufficient supply due to the one-month maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project in offshore Palawan from March 15 to April 13.

The gas field supplies 40 percent of Luzon’s power requirements.