THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the application of Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. to build a transmission facility that will connect its power plant in Maasim, Sarangani province to the Mindanao grid.
In a decision this month, the ERC set conditions for Alsons subsidiary Sarangani Energy Corp. to connect the second phase of its coal-fired power plant to its power substation to the facility of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the privately held system operator.
The conditions include giving the authority to operate and maintain the dedicated point-to-point transmission facilities to the NGCP, subject to applicable charges. The line should also be developed and built within an approved system impact study and facility study to avoid the degradation of NGCP’s transmission system.
“Any portion thereof required for competitive purposes or connect to any other user, ownership of the same shall be transferred to TRANSCO [National Transmission Corp.]/NGCP at fair market value,” the ERC said.
The ERC’s approval comes as Mindanao’s electricity demand is projected to increase at an average annual growth rate of 4.57%, which is said to be highest growth rate among the country’s three grids.
“Its peak electricity demand of 1,407 MW [megawatts] in 2012 is seen to increase to 2,068 MW in 2020, and will increase further to 3,259 MW in 2030,” data on Sarangani Energy’s application show.
The company noted that the Mindanao grid “has been experiencing under generation since 2010. This is expected to continue, if not worsen, if the rapid growth of the region’s electricity demand is not met.”
In July last year, Alsons has awarded the contract to build the second phase of its Sarangani coal-fired power plant to Japanese company JGC Corp. This is the second half of the 210-MW project being undertaken by the Alsons subsidiary.
In April 2016, the first 105-MW section of the plant started operations. It provides baseload power to more than three million residents of the province, General Santos City and other key areas of Mindanao.
Alsons has said that the $570-million power plant was the “single largest investment” in Sarangani and the whole of Soccsksargen or Region 12.
Alsons holds 75% of the subscribed capital of Sarangani Energy, while Japanese company Toyota Tsusho Corp. owns the rest. — Victor V. Saulon
The first 150-megawatt section of Sarangani Energy Corporation’s 210 MW coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani province started operations in April 2016. — ALSONS CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES
