AboitizPower shuts down Mindanao power barge

MANILA, Philippines – AboitizPower Corp. announced that one of its oil-fired power barges in Mindanao was shut down due to technical problems on Thursday, March 21.

Jovy P. Batiquin, the COO of Aboitiz unit Therma Marine, Inc., said in a statement that a generator of Mobile 1 in Maco, Compostela Valley developed technical problems on March 18. The generator was shut down indefinitely to prevent further damage. It was running constantly for 72 hours prior to the incident.   

Every Therma Marine barge has two engines. The four engines in the company’s two power barges have a total of 200MW of installed capacity. Therma Marine’s other barge is moored in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this unforeseen event may cause our customers. We are now assessing the situation and the repairs needed so we can come up with a timetable and we will accordingly inform all our customers — the electric cooperatives and distribution utilities – of developments as soon as the information is determined. We will endeavor to keep the repair time of the unit at its minimum and hopefully minimize the inconvenience to everyone.” Batiquin said.

Therma Marine provides power to 23 distribution utilities and electric cooperatives. It complements the National Power Corporation, which supplies more than 70% of the total power in Mindanao. – Rappler.com