SMC wants to energize Mindanao’s conflict islands

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) plans to build power plants in the remote southwestern islands of Mindanao—an area where lack of economic opportunities helped fester banditry and a four decade-old Muslim insurgency—in response to the government’s call for greater investments there.

In a press briefing, the president of the country’s largest conglomerate unveiled plans to construct three 58-megawatt (MW) coal-fired electricity generation plants, one each for the island groups of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“The first will be a power plant for Jolo, Sulu,” said SMC president Ramon Ang, noting the power facility would use the latest circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology to reduce emission and help protect the islands’ ecosystem.

At present, the Sulu archipelago is powered by a 25-MW diesel-fired plant, which is insufficient for providing uninterrupted electricity supply. The lack of stable and affordable power has been cited as one of the reasons for the stunted growth of the economy of Jolo and its environs.

Ang explained electricity in Jolo currently retails at a pricey P15/kWh, including a subsidy provided by the national government through the National Power Corporation (Napocor).

“If Napocor agrees to pay that amount to me—something they pay for 25MW—I’ll give them 58MW for the same amount,” he said. “They lose nothing, and gain double to supply power.”

He said Napocor and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) buy the electricity from Sulu’s generation plant and sell this at subsidized rates to the local cooperative.

“If they give me a 10-year contract, I’ll build a new plant, and even lower prices,” he said. “I’m even willing to sell them electricity as low as P3 per kilowatt-hour.”

The SMC chief said he was willing to duplicate the arrangement for Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, both presently powered by expensive but unreliable diesel-fired plants.