PNoy inaugurates AboitizPower's 300-MW coal in Davao City

TORIL, Davao City – PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III led the formal inauguration and switch on of the 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant located at Toril district in Davao City, Friday.Aquino, in his speech, said the coal plants of the Therma South, Inc. (TSI), a subsidiary of the AboitizPower, could help resolve Mindanao’s growing demand of electricity.The plants are considered baseload, which could augment at least one-fifth of the power requirements for Mindanao.Aquino said that at least 11 power plants of the independent power producers (IPPs), with an estimated capacity of 675MW, would be built before he steps down in May 2016. Napocor’s huge debts The President started his 10-minute speech by stating the debts of the National Power Corporation (Napocor) in 2000 ballooned to P1.2 trillion, which represented representing a quarter of the nation’s total debts. How could we, as a nation, continue servicing these debts, much more pay them off completely, while also allocating enough resources for infrastructure, health care, education, and other necessary services?” he asked.He said the hydro-electric plants, which were once abundant sources of energy, suffered from a number of sources, including the lack of regular maintenance, the vanishing watersheds, and the worsening effects of climate change. This was the situation that our administration inherited.And the results were clear,” he stressed.In recent years, he explained, Mindanao has bended on energy surplus. In 2010, this resulted to rotating brownouts that understandably frustrated our countrymen. This was a problem that we have anticipated even before we took office,” he added.This, he explained, needed a resolution, that is, to foster an environment that would encourage private sector to make massive investments in energy in Mindanao.And the AboitizPower, he said, was among those that helped the national government resolve the energy problem in Mindanao. Coal plants to ease Mindanao brownouts Long hours of rotating brownouts have affected people in Mindanao, especially in areas that rely primarily on the Agus and Pulangi hydro-electric power plants.Among them were power consumers from North Cotabato.Felix Canja, general manager of the Cotabato Electric Cooperative (Cotelco) at PPALMA, said the electricity they are getting from TSI helps ease brownouts in their service areas.The Cotelco PPALMA services power consumers from towns of Pigcawayan, Pikit, Aleosan, Libungan, Midsayap, and Alamada in North Cotabato and towns of Pagalungan and Pagagawan in Maguindanao.Canja said that the lack of power supply has resulted to rotating brownouts, which could last from 10 to 12 hours daily. But with the 4MW of power we get from TSI, we’re pretty sure that we will get rid of daily brownouts,” said Canja.The Cotelco-Main buys at least 10MW of power from TSI coal.The other sources of Cotelco’s supply come from AboitizPower’s Therma Marine, Inc., Napocor’s hydro, and the Lopezes’ geothermal power in Mount Apo.