Power plant planned in Bogo

CEBU, Philippines - To further address the forecasted serious power shortage in Cebu, the Department of Energy plans to construct a 1.5-megawatt power plant in Bogo City, where gas was discovered.

DOE Assistant Secretary Ramon Allan Oca met with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday to ask her support for the project which will be commissioned later this month or early October.

The plant, which will be put up in Barangay Libertad, will cost P750 million, Oca said.

“It’s a natural gas, another alternative source of power, which is cleaner,” Oca said.

Oca said the project will be constructed through their contractor, the Forum Energy Philippines, which will process the gas.

Forum Energy Philippines will sell the gas to DESCO, a leading provider of petroleum and geothermal products and services in the Philippines, which would then supply electricity from the gas plant to Cebu Electric Cooperative Inc. The DOE official added that they will do additional exploration work in Bogo.

“Hopefully we’ll find more gas para ma-expand natin ang power plants…There seems to be indication that there are more,” Oca said.

The Libertad gas field was reportedly discovered in the late 1950s but was not developed. A testing program was carried out from 1993 to 1995 involving the drilling of seven wells, with one of these testing positive for gas.  (FREEMAN)