THE Malampaya gas-to-power project is scheduled for a maintenance shutdown in October this year, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said last week citing an advisory from the operator the offshore drilling platform.
“I want to know. They said it is October,” he said about the advanced notification from the project operator.
Mr. Cusi said he had asked Energy Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos to write Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEx) in November last year and asked about SPEx, a unit of Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell plc, is the operator of Service Contract 38 off Palawan, along with Chevron Malampaya LLC and the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. as joint venture partners.
“Another question is, what are the preparatory measures that are being undertaken that there will be feedstock, fuel, for the plants that are dependent on them,” Mr. Cusi said, adding that he has yet to be informed about the duration of the maintenance shutdown.
Mr. Cusi said the reason why he had asked the operators for an advanced schedule was because the DoE had in the past been surprised about the Malampaya shutdown that resulted in the power plants dependent on the project’s gas resorting to more expensive fuel to run their facilities.
He said he was not subjecting SC 38 to a stricter scrutiny of its contract.
“[I’m] just saying that your DoE is planning, your DoE is looking forward, looking at what are the options to prevent ‘yung mga price shock,” he said.
In 2017, the Malampaya offshore facility was out from Jan. 28 to Feb. 16, prompting power plants that run on natural gas to temporarily use more expensive fuel. Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) sources part of the power it distributes from many of these plants.
The shutdown resulted in an increase in power rates by P0.6634 per kilowatt-hour, which Meralco was allowed to collect in three equal installments of P0.2211 centavos in March, April and May, 2017.
The Malampaya shutdown affected the supply of natural gas to the power plants of South Premiere Power Corp. in Ilijan, Batangas City as well as First Gen Corp.’s Sta. Rita, San Lorenzo, San Gabriel and Avion plants. These plants were supplying 3,211 megawatts (MW) to the Luzon grid, of which 2,565 MW is supplied to Meralco’s franchise area.
The shutdown coincided with the scheduled maintenance of other power plants such as Sem-Calaca Power Corp.’s unit one and Quezon Power (Philippines), Ltd. They account for 585 MW of Meralco’s power requirements. — Victor V. Saulon
