Aboitiz Power taps 2 firms for P41-B power plant in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines – The Visayas will get a boost in power supply as Aboitiz Power Corporation’s unit Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) starts to build a P41-billion power plant in Toledo City, Cebu.

The Department of Energy projects 2016 to 2018 to be a critical period for the Visayas power grid. TVI said its project will help address the power deficit.

“We look forward to working closely on this project with our EPC contractor and the local community to ensure we deliver a quality power plant on time. This project will assure Cebuanos that we will have adequate and competitively priced baseload power supply in the island by 2017. This is a very important project for the Visayas grid,” Aboitiz Power CEO Erramon Aboitiz said.

TVI signed an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with Hyundai Engineering Company Ltd. and Galing Power Energy Company Inc. It will now issue a Notice to Proceed for the contractors to conduct design engineering and detailed physical data collection for the 300-megawatt (MW) baseload power plant in Sitio Looc, Barangay Bato, Toledo City.

The project’s generating equipment will consist of 2 x 170 MW steam turbines and 2 circulating fluidized bed boilers. Construction is targeted for completion by 2017.

Aboitiz Power is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail, and power services.

It recently announced an investment of up to P80 billion to beef up its power portfolio. It plans to add 2,000 MW in the next 5 years. At present, the company’s power generation capacity stands at 2,300 MW.

Aboitiz Power booked a net income of P4.2 billion in the first 3 months of the year, 9% lower compared to the same period a year ago. Core net income likewise declined by 3% to P4.4 billion at end-March due to the revaluation of consolidated dollar loans and placements. (READ: Aboitiz Group Q1 profit down on lower power, bank earnings) – Rappler.com