DMCI power unit to put up diesel-fired plant in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - DMCI Power Corp., a subsidiary of Consunji-led DMCI Holdings Inc., is putting up a diesel-fired power plant in the southern part of Palawan for additional power supply to the island’s electric distribution franchise.

DMCI Power said it is building a 4.42-megawatt (MW) diesel power plant in Brooke’s Point town.

Electricity generated from this facility will supply the power requirements of three towns — Brooke’s Point, Bataraza and Sofronio Española, the firm said.

“This business decision is meant to ensure that these towns will enjoy stable and dependable power,” DMCI Power president Nestor D. Dadivas said. “It is part of our missionary electrification commitment to increase presence in underserved areas of Palawan.”

DMCI Power said this is a satellite facility that aims to augment the capacity of its plant in Irawan, Puerto Princesa City.

DMCI Power has signed an agreement with National Power Corp. and Palawan Electric Cooperative Inc. (Paleco) to provide base-load/peaking power in response to the demand of the island.

Currently, these three towns have been experiencing power instability due to line connection problems and insufficient supply in the entire province.

“In the event that there will be line outage, these three towns will continue to have power, as they will no longer have to wait long for power to become available from Puerto Princesa,” Dadivas said.

Earlier, DMCI Power bagged a 25-MW supply contract from Paleco to construct a coal-fired power plant. However, this faced strong opposition from environmentalist groups and residents.

At present, DMCI operates diesel and bunker power plants in Masbate, Palawan and Oriental Mindoro. Another diesel plant is set to operate in Sultan Kudarat by yearend.

It also recently announced it will also venture into renewable energy, particularly hydropower and biomass.

To further expand its business, DMCI Power continuously looks for opportunities through the bidding of National Power Corp.-Small Power Utilities Group (NPC-SPUG) contracts and Power Sector Asset and Liabilities Management Corp.’s privatization of power generation assets.