$6.7-M Avion transmission link OKd

A First Gen Corp. subsidiary is undertaking a transmission project to enable upcoming power stations in the Lopez Group’s gas-fired generation plant complex in Batangas to supply the Luzon grid.

Prime Meridian Powergen Corp. (PMPC), a unit of First Gen, has applied for a $6.7-million point-to-point transmission facility, which will be finalized in 2016.

This will connect the upcoming 90- to 115-megawatt (MW) Avion and the 434-MW San Gabriel projects to the existing switchyard of the 1,000-MW Santa Rita power plant.

First Gen president Giles Puno has told reporters the company wants to fast-track the 97-MW Avion natural gas-fired project this year to address the power supply shortage in Luzon.

Avion may be completed around May. If it is, the power station could be on full commercial commissioning by June.

First Gen is also progressing with the construction of the 434-MW San Gabriel natural gas plant to be operational in the summer of 2016.

To test, commission and dispatch the plant soon after completion, PMPC proposed an interim connection through the Santa Rita switchyard to the system of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

Avion will ultimately be connected to the switchyard of the 500-MW San Lorenzo plant as San Gabriel is connected to the same switchyard. That will be the final connection, which is expected to take place in 2016.

ERC approved the application, saying the point-to-point connectivity is allowed under law and that NGCP has found the connection to be “technically feasible.” Riza T. Olchondra