300MW coal power plant in Davao

inaugurated
Saturday, January 09, 2016
By ACE JUNE RELL S. PEREZ (/AUTHOR/ACE-JUNE-RELL-S-PEREZ)

(http://www.sunstar.com.ph/sites/default/files/field/image/article/aboitiz-coal-fired-powerplant_0.jpg)
DAVAO. THE P35-billion coal-fired power plant with a total capacity of 300 megawatts of the Therma
South Inc. (TSI), a wholly-subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation was formally inaugurated Friday in
Binugao, Toril. The plant, which is considered as a power asset in Mindanao is seen to be one of the
long-term solutions to the island's power situation problem. (Ace June S. Perez)

THE Therma South Inc. (TSI), a fully-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation
inaugurated on Friday its 300-megawatt (MW) baseload coal-fired power plant located
between the boundaries of Barangay Binugao, Toril, Davao City and Barangay Sirawan,
Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
The baseload power plant is a two-unit power generator with 150-MW capacity each.
TSIs two units have a combined net power capacity of 260 MW and house load
requirement of 40 MW.
TSI unit one started commercial operations last September 2015 while its second unit is
presently undergoing reliability testing and is targeted to be in full commercial
operations by February of this year.
With the entry of the coal-based power plant and other upcoming conventional power
plant projects of other private power firms, better power situation is seen for the island
as it will not be dependent on weather conditions like prolonged dry spells.
This baseload plant is able to continue generating much needed power even with
Mindanao is experiencing dry spells caused by El Nino phenomenon. We hope that other
power projects from other private companies will also realize their projects which are
seen as power assets in the island, this will eventually lead to a steady and reliable
supply of power in Mindanao, AboitizPower chief executive officer Erramon Aboitiz said
in his speech during the switching-on ceremony of the power plant yesterday.
He added that with private sector entering the power industry is a strong indication that
Republic Act (RA) 9136 or otherwise known as Electric Power Industry Reform Act of
2001 (Epira) is working by transforming the industry from a monopolized and politicized
into a competitive structure.
The power asset, which has a dependable capacity that is roughly equivalent to one-fifth
of the Mindanao grids highest peak demand in 2015, supplies power to more than 20
electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in Mindanao including Davao Light Power
Company (DLPC), power providers of the cities of Cagayan De Oro, General Santos,
Zamboanga, Butuan, Kidapawan, Tagum, Koronadal, Digos, Pagadian and Cotabato,
among others.
The Aboitiz Power Corp. showed interest of establishing a coal plant in 2010.
The P35-billion coal-fired power plant eventually started construction in 2012 and was
totally sold to electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in 2014.
Responding on claims of environmentalists that the coal facility will be detrimental to
health and environment, TSI in its primer said that the plant uses modern technology
such as latest circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustion technology that minimizes
emissions, coal dome, a storage coal facility, screw-type ship unloader, electrostratic
precipitator (ESP) and continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) all in its effort
to comply with the health and environmental standards.
Arturo M. Milan, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of DLPC in a
separate interview said that the distribution utility lowered down its contracted demand
with National Power Corporation (NPC)- Power Sector Assets and Liabilities
Management Corporation (PSALM) from 274MW of last year to about 140 MW starting
January of this year because of the entry of more coal-fired power plants. DLPC total
contract for TSI is 100 MW.

Balanced power mix

As a continuous battle cry of establishing a balanced power mix of renewable and nonrenewable power supply in the country especially Mindanao, the Department of Energy
(DOE) and Mindanao Development Authority (Minda), among other power industry
players is also pushing for more RE power projects.
Mindanao we are pushing for 50-50 power mix as per Mindanao 2020 vision, and taking
this into the national level we in the energy department is targeting by the end of 2016 to
achieve at least 30 percent of the national grid will be sourced from RE supply, Zenaida
Y. Monsada, DOE newly-appointed secretary, for her part said.
At present, there are more than 290 pending RE projects, 72 of which are from Davao
Region based on the Department of Energy data.
The Mindanaos pending projects have a combined capacity of 3,256.83 MW.
These RE pending projects were now being monitored and facilitated by the One-Stop
Facilitation and Monitoring Center (OSFMC), a program initiated by the Mindanao
Development Authoritys (Minda) Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee.

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on January 10, 2016.

Latest issues of Sun.Star Davao also available on your mobile phones,
laptops, and tablets. Subscribe to our digital editions at
epaper.sunstar.com.ph (http://epaper.sunstar.com.ph/epaper/viewer.aspx)
and get a free seven-day trial.

Promoted Stories

Want to take a look

inside of the
business class?

1 Tip That Finally

Turned Yellow Teeth
White

61 Woman From
Manila Discovers
How to Get Rid of

20 of the Most
Photogenic Locations
in the World

(All Nippon Airways on

INQUIRER.net)

(Health & Beauty)

(Health News Online)

(Lonny Magazine)

(http://en.ihealth.life? (http://skincare.womensstyle.net?
(http://www.lonny.com/The+Most+Ins
(https://business.inquirer.net/221278/flyt202id=4115&t202kw=ad6&t202ref=001298689223c1b3370a7be7538df33c8e)
t202id=6288&t202kw=ad3&t202ref=001298689223c1b3370a7
utm_source=outb&utm_medium=cpc&u
class-comfort-northLN-Specials-X2america-tokyo-ana)
Desktop-MostInstagrammedLocations)
Recommended by

(http://www.outbrain.com/what-is/default/en)