SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen), the power generation unit of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), is still searching for prospective partners for the construction of a 1,200 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Quezon.
“We are talking to a number of parties but we are not yet in the position to discuss whom we are talking to,” said Meralco President Oscar Reyes.
It’s been a strategy of the company in the past to pursue this kind of project with a partner. “We will focus on who would be the best partner for Atimonan, and they should be well established,” added the Meralco official.
The power project, estimated at $2 billion (P94.41 billion), would be undertaken by Atimonan One Energy.
Meralco Chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the project would require a partnership with a foreign firm to spread any possible risk “with the partner likely Japanese or Korean and probably not Chinese.”
Early work to start next year
Earlier, Meralco Senior Vice President Angelito Lantin said that the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) bid process has already begun with selection for the preferred EPC contractor to happen by middle of next year.
“Early works such as site access road and resettlement site construction are targeted to start in early 2016. The target completion of unit 1 is late 2020,” he said.
The proposed 2 x 600MW supercritical coal-fired power plant in Atimonan town is a response to Luzon’s energy supply requirements.
The project will be located on an area of about 130 hectares in Barangay Villa Ibaba, about 114 aerial kilometers southeast of Quezon City and about 30 aerial kilometers east-northeast of Lucena City.
The growing demand for power in the Philippines especially in Luzon is reflected in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Philippine Energy Plan (PEP).
The DOE says that 500MW of additional baseload generating capacity is needed to be online every year starting 2015 to meet the projected power demand for the country’s largest island. (READ: The future of coal-fired pwoer plants)
Aside from the Atimonan project, the Meralco group is also keen on bringing in more major power generation projects.
Other projects the group is involved in include the 455MW plant of San Buenaventura Power Ltd. (SBPL) in Quezon province and the 600 MW by Redondo Peninsula Energy Incorporated (RP Energy) in Subic.
“Without any generating capacity, Meralco would effectively be only a price-taker and a supply-taker,” Reyes said.
He added, “We look forward to building a portfolio of highly fuel efficient, highly reliable power generating facilities of up to 3,000 MW in joint venture with strategic partners”. – Rappler.com
$1 = P 47.21
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