Napocor allots P400 M for diesel-to-hybrid conversion

MANILA, Philippines - The National Power Corp. (Napocor) is spending over P400 million to transform 21 of its diesel power plants in Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) areas into hybrid plants.

This is part of the state-owned firm’s renewable energy (RE) program for 2017- 2020, Napocor vice president for corporate affairs group Urbano C. Mendiola, Jr. said.

The program aims to provide 24/7 reliable electricity supply to all of its service areas.

Under the program, Napocor will spend P113.6 million to put up an additional 568 megawatts of hybrid plants in 2017, P78.4 million for 392 MW in 2018, P113.6 million for 568 MW in 2019 and P124.8 million for 624 MW, or a total of P430 million over the four-year period.

Mendiola said there are 21 candidate areas involved in the 2017-2020 hybridization of diesel power plants with solar and wind energy.

“Most of the areas were chosen for their tourism potential,” he said.

Up for conversion in 2017 are those diesel plants located in Gigantes Island in Iloilo, Almagro and Sto. Niño Islands in Samar, Sto. Niño and Doong Island in Cebu, and Maripipi Island in Biliran.

In 2018, those plants in Luuk Island in Sulu, Banton and Concepcion Islands Romblon, Tagapul-an Island in Samar, and Balimbing Island in Tawi-Tawi are scheduled for hybridization.

Those in Guintarcan Island in Cebu, San Vicente in Samar, Sintangkay Island in Tawi-Tawi, Sacol Island in Zamboanga, and Jomalig Island in Quezon are scheduled for conversion in 2019.

Finally, diesel plants in Limawasa Island in Southern Leyte, Tandubas and Manuk-Mangkaw Islands in Tawi-Tawi, Balut Island in Sarangani, Hikdop Island in Surigao, and Palanan in Isabela are targeted for hybridization in 2020.

Last September, Napocor president and CEO Ma. Gladys Cruz-Sta. Rita said the state-owned company has been planning the use of RE hybrid systems in its missionary electrification program to lower the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UCME) of the 290 Small Power SPUG power plants across the country. The current UCME is at P0.15 per kilowatt hour.

Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, UCME is collected from end-users. The collections will be used for the electrification of remote communities or areas not connected to the main transmission grid.