Meralco unit, Thai partner break ground for Quezon plant

MANILA, Philippines - The power unit of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Thailand’s Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. (EGCO) have started the construction of a 460-megawatt (MW) supercritical coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon.

Meralco Power Gen Corp. (MGen) said in a statement its unit San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL) held the groundbreaking for its power project last Dec. 10.

The power plant under SBPL, which is 51 percent owned by MGen and 49 percent owned by EGCO’s subsidiary New Growth BV, will provide the baseload supply needed to serve electricity consumers in Luzon.

The start of construction took place following the closing of a P42.15-billion loan with a consortium of local banks, which include BDO Unibank Inc., China Banking Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

To build the project, SBPL tapped the consortium of Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corp. as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

The plant is scheduled to begin operations in the first half of 2019, and is expected to be the country’s first power plant to utilize state-of-the-art supercritical technology.

The electricity generated by the plant will be sold to Meralco under a 20-year power supply agreement approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this year.

MGen said the tariff of the SBPL plant is one of the most competitive for new capacities that are expected to come on-stream in the next few years.

The SBPL power plant will play a crucial role as electricity demand grows, especially in Luzon which accounts for about 70 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The project represents MGen and EGCO Group’s commitment to contribute in efforts to attain energy security, which will benefit the Philippine economy.

For MGen’s part, the facility is also aligned with its goal to have a power generation portfolio of about 3,000 MW.