7 Japanese energy firms eyeing investments in PH—Almendras

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras

SAN JOSE CITY, Philippines—As demand for electricity in Metro Manila increases, at least seven Japanese firms are eyeing investments in the Philippine power sector, according to Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras.

Despite the good news, Almendras said Luzon would still be facing a supply shortfall by 2015.

Appearing at the launching of the San Jose City I Power Corp. here on Friday, Almendras considered the interest of Japanese firms in the country’s power sector as “certainly pieces of good news.”

“But the bad news for us is that we will have a shortfall in electric supply in Luzon,” he said.

Almendras said the huge demand for electricity projected in the country, especially in Metro Manila, would require as many investors as the government could attract to satisfy that demand.

He did not give details about the Japanese firms that had expressed interest in investing in power generation.

Almendras allayed fears about a shortfall in power supply in 2012.

He said the demand for electricity could still be supplied adequately until 2014. “I am very worried [about the shortfall] in 2015,” he said.

“We will be needing an additional 600 megawatts of electricity in 2015 in Luzon. We should start building facilities for power generation now.”

The Department of Energy, he said, has been considering putting up a coal-fired power plant near the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan.

As for Mindanao, Almendras lamented that not many investors in electric power generation have been coming because of the uncertain peace and order on the island.

He said he hoped that this could be reversed due to the government’s effort in forging peace with Moro rebels.

Almendras, during the opening of the San Jose City I Power Corp., appealed to power investors to consider Mindanao, which has been experiencing electricity supply shortage.

“We need investors like you. We need this kind of project which you are putting up here to avert this shortfall in electric power supply,” he said. The San Jose City I Power Corp. was put up by 21 rice millers here and other businessmen in cooperation with a private investor to generate 9.9 megawatts of electricity using a rice hull-powered power plant. The group pooled a P1 billion capital for the project. “Your example here is a good model. You are a group of diverse people and you invested big sum of money for power generation. I hope we can invite many more like you to invest in power generation to help solve our impending problem,” Almendras said.