By Angelica Ballesteros | The Daily Tribune
MAUBAN, Quezon — Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen) officially launched on Tuesday the full operations of its P56.2-billion supercritical coal-fired power plant here.
The facility, called the San Buenaventura Power Plant, is a 500-megawatt (MW) coal power which is said to be the most advanced power facility as it uses a high efficiency, low emission (HELE) coal technology that allows operations at higher temperatures and pressures and reach higher efficiencies, while significantly cutting carbon emissions, the first in the country.
“This… facility will help provide much needed power in our country, most especially in Luzon,” Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in his speech during the switch-on ceremony.
He added it will help ensure energy security in the Philippines amid the dwindling supply as a result of the expiring Malampaya gas contract in 2024.
The power plant was built by the consortium of South Korea’s Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.
The SBPL plant is a partnership between Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen) and New Growth BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Electricity Generating Company of Thailand (EGCO).
EGCO is the first independent power producer in Thailand. It has the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) as a controlling shareholder.
Last month, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) president Ray Espinosa said he expected between 600 MW to 900 MW supply cut in the Luzon grid with the ongoing maintenance shutdown of Malampaya this month, and that the San Buenaventura facility was expected to offset the projected supply reduction.