Mindanao power grid gets additional 105 MW

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Power supply in Mindanao is expected to improve as the 105-megawatt generator of the coal-fired STEAG State Power Inc. (SPI) power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental was finally synchronized with the Mindanao grid on Friday.

Jerome Soldevilla, spokesman for SPI, said the unit 1 generator was put online with the Mindanao grid at around 3:28 p.m., ahead of its scheduled target on June 1.

Mindanao suffered rotational blackouts in the past weeks due to lack of power supply, which worsened when SPI’s two power-generating units went offline. 

“We are pleased to announce that Unit 1 has resumed operations and we hope that this added capacity will help improve the critical power supply condition of Mindanao,” SPI power plant manager Carsten Evers said.

SPI’s  power plant in Misamis Oriental is composed of two identical electrical generating sets with a net capacity of 105MW each.

Both units underwent repair and maintenance since Feb. 27 and the unit 2 went online on May 7.

 Soldevilla said since the start of its operation in November 2006, SPI has delivered more than 10 billion kilowatt hours of power to the grid, representing about 18 percent of the island’s electricity supply.           – With Iris Gonzales