Meralco awaits approval for 2 coal plants

Singapore—Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), the power generation unit of Meralco., seeks to bolster its baseload portfolio by 1,280 megawatts (MW) with two coal plants awaiting the government’s green light.

Coal plants are usually used as baseload, or the minimum power that needs to be injected into the grid at any given time, as they are the technology that can deliver the cheapest power around the clock. MGen’s baseload capacity is currently at 1,395 MW.

READ: MGen’s Singapore unit vies for $900-M project

In a chat with reporters, Emmanuel Rubio, president of MGen, said he learned the Department of Energy (DOE) was leaning toward giving them certificates of exception from the coal ban.

The DOE had imposed a moratorium on new coal plants to control the country’s carbon emissions and support the government’s push to shift to clean energy.

No total ban

In July, the DOE clarified there was no total ban, which meant that existing and operational facilities that have made commitments for expansion may proceed.

The group’s proposed coal-fired power plant project in Atimonan, Quezon province, Rubio previously said, was included in a list of projects that have already been “committed,” or projects that are in various stages of development. The project had also secured an environmental compliance certificate for the 1,200-MW project that claims to have low emissions.

The Toledo facility, meanwhile, has original construction permits covering two units, with 80 MW each. Currently, it is running at an 82-MW capacity. Toledo Power Corp. is under Global Business Power, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGen.

Rubio said the firm was already in talks with potential contractors and equipment suppliers for the planned Atimonan coal plant.

Two candidates

“We have two candidates in Atimonan and so far we have one sure candidate for Toledo which was the original supplier, Formosa Heavy Industries,” he said late Tuesday.

The official said MGen was likely to invest $1.6 million per MW.

Once MGen secures the exception certificates, Rubio hopes to get the board’s go signal to proceed to the next stage, which would cover a feasibility study and engineering works.

Rubio also noted that banks—including four from the Philippines and two from Indonesia—already showed intent to back the projects.