DMCI power plants to rise in Masbate, Palawan, Mindoro

DMCI Power Corp., a subsidiary of the Consunji-led DMCI Holdings Inc., is eyeing to build three small coal-fired power facilities in Masbate, Palawan and Mindoro, which can generate a combined 75 megawatts.

DMCI Power chairman Isidro Consunji said this was part of the company’s plan to convert the diesel-fired power facilities in the small and remote islands into coal-fed power plants to bring down the cost of power to the so-called “off-grid” consumers.

At the same time, putting up coal facilities is expected to reduce the subsidies given to the off-grid areas, whose electricity requirements are being provided by the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) of the state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor). These subsidies are, meanwhile, being shouldered by grid-connected consumers through the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UCME).

Consunji explained that this conversion was the company’s plan for Palawan and Masbate, where it supplies electricity in place of the Napocor-SPUG. They are also hoping to do the same in the other so-called SPUG areas should the contracts be awarded to them.

“We want to convert from oil to coal. Right now, we’re just waiting for approvals to do this in Palawan. If we get approvals, the subsidy will go down. We want to do the same thing in Masbate and hopefully, if we succeed in bagging the contract, we want to do the same thing in Mindoro,” Consunji said.

The plan was to have a 15-MW coal facility in Masbate, a 30-MW coal plant in Palawan, and another 30-MW coal plant in Mindoro.

Consunji noted that this conversion plan will also make the country to be less dependent on petroleum whose prices are highly volatile.

He further pointed out that 1 kilowatt of power produced will cost about P2 when coal is used but roughly about P10 for diesel.

“A 15-MW plant will save the country P560 million a year,” Consunji added.

At present, DMCI Power supplies power to the Masbate Electric Cooperative (Maselco) from the 3-MW Masbate diesel power plant.

Last year, DMCI Power won the bidding to supply 25 MW of power to the Palawan Electric Cooperative.

The agreement called for the construction of facilities by DMCI Power to serve the island’s growing electricity demand.

DMCI Power is currently building a 27-MW diesel facility, which would be the first of three power generation facilities that it is putting up between now and 2017.

The plan was to start commercial operations of a 27-MW diesel-fired power facility in Palawan by Sept. 1, 2013; a 15-MW coal-fired power plant in October 2014; and another 15-MW coal facility by January 2017.