Firm sees to completion of Biliran plant in aftermath of ‘Urduja’

Biliran Geothermal Inc. (BGI) is fast-tracking the construction of its 10-megawatt geothermal power plant to help the island province’s recovery in the aftermath of Tropical Depression “Urduja” (international name: Kai-tak).

“As we maintain offices in Naval, Biliran, we too experienced the aftermath of Urduja and have extended help as best we can to the community by sharing our available resources and manpower,” said Guido Alfredo Delgado, president and chief executive of BGI’s parent firm Emerging Power Inc. (EPI).

EPI is 60-percent owned by mining firm Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), which is diversifying its business investments to include renewable energy.

“The earthquake last July and recently, the wrath of … Urduja emphasized Biliran’s need for an indigenous local power resource that will ensure power security for the province,” Delgado said.

He added that soon after BGI had ensured the safety of its personnel, the company welcomed Naval residents into their offices to accommodate free charging of cellular phones and gadgets.

EPI has three other subsidiaries, namely Jobin-SQM Inc., Manta Energy, Inc. (MEI), and Mindoro Geothermal Power Corp. (MGPC).

In a related development, electricity output from Energy Development Corp.’s (EDC) geothermal assets in Leyte was halved following the heavy rains that Urduja dumped in the Visayas over the weekend.

“As of the evening of Dec. 18, the Leyte Power Plants are producing an aggregate of 246 MW, compared to 462 MW before the typhoon hit,” EDC said.