Singaporean firm to proceed with takeover
A Singaporean owned-firm will take over diesel powered plants on Panay Island despite moves of local officials to postpone the turn-over of the plants.
In statement, the SPC Island Corp. (SIPC), formerly Salcon Power Corp., said it will take over the Panay Diesel Power Plants (PDPP) on March 25 and will immediately start rehabilitation work.
SIPC Treasurer and Director Alfredo Henares said in the statement that the company will rehabilitate PDPP 1 and PDPP 2 because only three of the plant's 13 units are operating. The three units generate around 17.5 mw for the system.
“To help solve the power supply deficit in Panay, the SIPC intends to increase the capacity of the plant to 60 mw in two months and to over 80 mw by the end of the third quarter of 2009. This represents a 460 percent increase in capacity,” said Henares.
The company was silent on concerns that it would not continue supplying the Panay grid until a new power supply agreement with electric cooperatives based on a higher rate than the current subsidized rate will be reached.
It, however, said the rehabilitation of the plants is also in preparation for the Visayas Supply Augmentation Auction (VSAA) program of the Department of Energy and Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC). The VSAA program aims to alleviate the power supply deficit in the Visayas by tapping excess supply from privately owned power generators to the power grid.
The company said it has also submitted a proposal to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) an agreement to provide its services to the Visayas grid.
The SIPC acquired the 146.5-megawatt (MW) PDPP and 22-MW Bohol diesel power plants for US$ 5.86 million in a bidding in November last year.