Cebu province to get more power

CEBU, Philippines - The continuous growth of the economy in Cebu is expected to be supported by additional power supply of 405.6 Megawatts (MW) that will soon be put up in the province.

Four private sectors are expected to put up three coal-fired power plants and one biomass plant which has a total cost of P34.728 billion.

According to the website of the Department of Energy (DOE), the four private sectors are Therma Visayas Inc., FDC Utilities Inc. Toledo Power Company and the Asian Energy System  Corporation.

Out of the 405.6 MW total rated capacity, only 85.6 MW is considered as committed rated capacity while the 320 MW is categorized as indicative rated capacity.

“Cebu as of now has a stable power supply and with the influx of new investments in Cebu, this is a very welcome development,” said Lito Maderazo, president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

The P23 billion worth Therma Visayas Energy Project in barangay Bato, Toledo City, Cebu has a rated capacity of 300 MW.

Feasibility tests for the project are to be completed by September 2013, said the DOE, while site development works are scheduled to start by January next year. Target testing and commissioning will follow by March 2017 with the target commercial operation set in June of the same year.

The Aboitiz-owned power company has reportedly arranged already for the acquisition of the required land except for the remaining two percent of the project site. They are also securing necessary permits and other regulatory requirements as well as processing the Certificate of Non-Overlap from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

As of August 13, 2013, the DOE said that the application for the Environmental Certificate of Compliance (ECC) for the coal-fired power plant is also on-going as well as the acquisition of the parcels of the land in the target plant site.

Maderazo is hoping that the government will also take a look at the power generation and distribution sector to ensure that our power cost is at par with our neighboring Asian countries.

“I hope that the trust and confidence of President Aquino is extended to his secretaries and commissioners and really look at the interest of the ordinary people. The country has to be competitive as we geared towards ASEAN market integration by 2015,” Maderazo said.

Robert Go, board of director of Philippine Retailers Association-Cebu Chapter said that these new power plant projects are “must-do” projects to prevent the projected lack of electricity supply in the next two to three years.

Go explained that the insufficient electricity would be due to the increase in usage plus the additional loads, investments and buildings and malls, among others.

“We will have brownouts like Mindanao if we don’t put it up. We will have higher electricity rates if there is a shortage and again we will use band-aid solution of using the diesel-fired power plants which cost too much and will increase rates. Increasing our power supply is always the balancer,” Go said.

Go cited that the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector alone needs continuous power supply for 24 hours.

“Any brownout will be a blackeye. It will drive away investors,” Go further said.

According to DOE’s projection, Visayas will need an additional 2,000 MW by 2030 with Visayas’ peak demand expected to reach 3,270 MW  from the current 1,540.

Apart from the four additional power plants, the Toledo Power Company of Global Business Power Corporation is also eyeing for an expansion of another 82 MW coal-fired power plant in Toledo City. Ground breaking for the said project was held in November last year.

TPC’s P10.17 billion project already has an ECC and a secured clearance from DOE for the conduct of a Geographic Information System.

Also, FDC Utilities, Inc. will be putting up a 20 MW coal-fired power plant in Danao City.

The DOE have said that impact studies and technical and financial studies are already completed on top of the lease agreement with the land owner and the supply contract with franchised electric cooperatives.

Further, there is an on-going construction of a Consolacion Landfill Methane Recovery and Electricity Generation by the Asian Energy System Corporation which amount is pegged at P199 million. It is expected to generate 3.6 MW of power.

The state-of-the-art P6.9 hectare sanitary landfill in Consolacion, which is endorsed by its municipal government, would be a first in the province consequently alleviating the concern of garbage in Metro Cebu.

The project was inaugurated last December in Barangay Polog, Consolacion.  (FREEMAN)