The 55-megawatt (MW) Unit 1 of the Bacon-Manito (Bacman1) geothermal facility is up and running again following scheduled maintenance work over the weekend, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) yesterday reported.
“The planned maintenance for the replacement of Bacman Unit 1’s hot well pump was completed as scheduled,” EDC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, Bacman1 is normally operating at 55 MW, EDC said.
EDC did not have any update for Bacman units 2 and 3. Only the BacMan1 geothermal facility, which has two 55-MW power units (both commissioned in 1993), has been fully rehabilitated since EDC acquired the asset from the government in 2010.
BacMan2 facility has never been fully operational, with only one of two 20-MW units able to run.
On Feb. 28, EDC shut down Bacman Unit 2, which has been operating since Feb. 5, due to a damaged turbine blade.
The Lopez affiliate recommissioned the BacMan plants in February this year, generating a total of 110 MW. It took EDC a year to repair the units and bring them back to their rated capacity.
According to EDC, it had to shut down Bacman1 to assess the power facility’s condition—whether it would be suitable enough to run commercially.