Mindanao power investors wooed (from Manila Standard Today)

The Energy Department is wooing investors to fill in the gap of around 2,500 megawatts needed by the Mindanao grid up to 2030, a ranking official said Wednesday.

Mindanao is now suffering from power outages lasting up to eight hours in selected areas. Mindanao is short of 357 MW as of Wednesday. Its generating capacitystood at 863 MWagainst a peak load of 1,220 MW.

Mindanao’s power generation mix is heavily dependent on hydropower at 42 percent. The El Niño weather phenomenon has limited the capabilities of the hydro plants due to the low water levels at reservoirs.

The government reported an 80 percent and 60 percent reduction in the available capacities of the Agus and Pulangi power plants, respectively. The Agus plants are running at 137 MW out of the total rated capacity of 694 MW while Pulangi is operating at 115 MW out of the total rated capacity of 255 MW.

Norman Vincent Martirez, Energy senior technical specialist of the power group, said committed projects for 2008 to 2030 is just 100 MW, which includes the 8-MW Cabulig hydro project of Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. set to be completed June 2011, the 42.5-MW Sibulan hydro of Hedcor Inc. unit 1 (26 MW), which is scheduled to be completed this month and unit 2 (16.5 MW) in April and the 50 MW Mt. Apo 3 geothermal of Energy Development Corp. set for commissioning in 2014.

Committed projects are those that have complied with the necessary permits and are in the process of financial closing.

Martirez said total indicative projects for Mindanao is around 581 MW up to 2030. These projects includes\ the 5-MW wind project of Energy Development in Camiguin Island, Minergy’s 20-MW bunker fired power plant, Green Power Davao and Green Power Cagayan de Oro’s 35-MW biomass plant (17.5 MW each), 68-MW Tagoloan hydropower plant, 225-MW Agus 3 hyro project, Conal Holdings’ 200-MW coal plant and Hedcor’s 27.5-MW Tamugan hydro plant.

Indicative power projects are those which are at different stages of development prior to financial closing.

Martinez said Mindanao needed an additional capacity of 2,500 MW up to 2030 on top of the committed capacity.

“While the prospective investors expressed their interest to put up new plants, the energy family is facilitating the entry of these much-needed investments,” the official said. 

-Alena Mae S. Flores