Coal power plant proponents assure cheaper power rates
Proponents of coal-fired power plants in Iloilo yesterday said electric rates in Iloilo would be more affordable if the power supply is generated from coal plants.
In separate presentations before the Regional Development Council (RDC), the Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) and David M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI) said power rates would be lower than the present rates because coal is cheaper than diesel fuel which is among the main supplier of the energy needs of Iloilo City and Panay Island.
DMCI has a P7.36-billion 100-megawatt project in Barangay Nipa in Concepcion around 111 km north of here.
GBPC and the Panay Power Corp. (PPC) will build a 164-mw coal plant inside the PPC's 40-hectare property in Barangay Ingore in La Paz District. The plant is expected to be completed by 2010.
The projects are among the long-time measures being pushed to address the power supply problem of Iloilo and Panay Island and are supported by most local officials and business groups.
The Department of Energy projects that the Cebu-Negros-Panay power grid will need a total of 261 mw by 2010 to avert a power shortage.
The DENR has issued environment certificates of compliance to the two coal plant projects.
Arman Lapus, GBPC executive vice president, assured the council that the pricing of electricity from the coal plants would be transparent to reflect the rates set by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Adrian Moncada, GBPC Assistant Vice President for New Businesses, said the power rate would be lower by around P2 per kwh from the current rate.
The proponents also stressed that coal plants will be more dependable in providing power compared to diesel and other sources of energy.
George Baquiran, DMCI Vice President for Special Projects, said around 300,000 metric tons of coal annually will be sourced from the DMCI-owned Semirara Mining Corp to supply the coal plant in Concepcion .
Baquiran said they are waiting for the signing of a power supply agreement with cooperatives under the the Panay-Guimaras Power Consortium before the project will commence.
Moncada said site development projects at the GBPC site will commence soon.
The presentation by proponents was prompted by the opposition of five governors of Western Visayas against the coal plant project in Iloilo City.
Moncada said they believed that they have given the RDC the necessary information to show that the projects are safe for the environment and health.
But coal plant opponents said renewable sources of energy would not only be environmentally safe but much cheaper than fossil fuel like coal.
In a statement, the Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (RISE) said the price tendered by biomass power plants to power cooperatives starting January 2011 is almost P2 cheaper than the coal power plants' offer.
RISE coordinator Melvin Purzuelo said in the statement that the Central Azucarera de San Antonio (CASA) in Passi City that uses bagasse for fuel is offering electricity at P3/kwh.
"This is much cheaper even than Napocor's government subsidized price," said Purzuelo.
Purzuelo also cited the results of Western Visayas Renewable Energy Congress held last week where investors identified potential projects tapping renewable energy and their willingness to invent in these projects.