PEDC admits latest foul odor from plant
If in the past the Panay Energy Development Corp. refused to admit that the foul odor complained by residents living near its 82-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Brgy. Ingore, La Paz district came from its facility, this time its management acknowledged that a similar odor report was monitored near the plant over the weekend.
“(O)ccurrences such as the odor reported could be attributed to the fact that the plant is still under its commissioning stage. As with any project being undertaken, inconveniences and exertions could be experienced prior to a project’s completion,” the PEDC said in an emailed statement.
It added: “In the future, occurrences such as these are not expected to happen as all testing and possible scenarios are now being checked to ensure a smooth operation and transition during the plant’s full commercial operations with clean coal.”
In its statement, the PEDC said that around 2 p.m. on November 13, just as it was “about to bring its operations for the day to a close and conclude its routine firing exercise, some residents of Brgy. Ticud, reported the presence of odor.”
The firing exercise started at 9 a.m. on November 12 and was scheduled to end at 2 pm of November 13.
It added “(t)he report was the first received since PEDC resumed its firing schedule after the September occurrence.”
Affected residents, including schoolchildren, first complained of the foul odor in the middle of September.
However, PEDC officials never admitted the bad odor came from their plant and its management even scheduled a retesting in October witnessed by experts from Manila and by local officials. The retesting yielded no foul odor.
In its latest statement, PEDC said the odor reported on November 13 “was likened to the smell of burning rubber or the smell of burnt electric wiring,” an odor similar to what was smelled by residents last September.
The PEDC, however, said “(r)eports indicated that this time odor was milder and sporadic in nature as compared to the first experience back in September.”
It added that after the retesting of the first boiler unit last October 15, “PEDC’s refiring schedules resumed but still only with the use of diesel oil as part of its commissioning stage and in preparation for the plant’s pre-commercial operations and eventual usage of clean coal to generate electricity.”
Measures
PEDC said it has implemented various measures to address the reported odor such as the exhaustive inspection of all systems used during the routine firing as part of its efforts to trace the possible origin and cause of the odor reported.
It has also reactivated the Multi-Partrite Monitoring Team (MMT) that will actively participate in the plant’s succeeding firing schedules.
The MMT will actively participate in both routine and milestone exercises until energization is achieved using the clean coal process designed for the project, the PEDC added.*
