Firms asked to junk 'destructive' plants Firms asked to junk 'destructive' plants

An environmental group in Cebu was relieved over the pullout of Mirant Global Corporation from its Visayas operations sometime last April but the group urged new companies to reject Mirant's expansion plans of coal-fired power plants before.

Cebu Alliance for Renewable Energy said those companies that are taking over Mirant's operations should drop the plans for expansion of power plants that are hazardous to the environment and people's health.

CARE provincial coordinator Vince Cinches said, "Mirant should also pull out its power plants that emit toxic chemicals, and companies that bought Mirant's plants should not assume Mirant's expansion plans."

Cinches also called on government officials to make Mirant accountable for the destruction its plants have done to the environment. He also urged former Mirant employees to reveal now their health problems while still working with the company.

About 60 percent of Mirant's workforce got retrenched when the firm sold its plant in Toledo City and another one in Panay Island to Metro Global.

Metro Global has so far been looking for additional projects to meet the economic and power demand growth of Panay and Cebu.

Mirant's pullout was a relief, said Cinches, adding that its decade of operations here only made the country's energy sector a "milking cow" to shore up the financial problems of its US-based parent firm.

Earlier, the Department of Energy said that Mirant's decision to sell its businesses in the Philippines was a welcome development because it opened new opportunities to major international and domestic players in the energy sector.

"The announcement has ended the uncertainty hanging over Mirant's participation in new power projects," DOE said.

The DOE said that other major players saw that the acquisition of Mirant's assets in the country assets would be a take-off point for getting more generation capacity through new projects or taking over existing plants. - Wenna A. Berondo