CalEnergy plans $ 300-M hydro plant for Mindanao power supply
Monday, June 19, 2006
By MYRNA M. VELASCO
US firm CalEnergy, an affiliate of MidAmerican Holdings, is queuing up $ 300 million probable investment for the proposed Agus 3 hydropower facility in Mindanao for a 225-megawatt capacity.
The US firm could be one of the brave souls to stake fresh investment in the power industry in the wake of heightened investment invitation by the Philippine government for new power capacity; primarily to avert an emerging capacity shortfall in the country’s second largest island grid.
That is not to say however that the company is not also perturbed by the same concerns raised by other investors, primarily regulatory unpredictability.
Given this, they have been consistently asking Philippine government to take decisive step in addressing such issues deterring investment inflows.
Should project plans push through, Raymond E. Cunningham, who manages CalEnergy’s business development plan, noted that the Agus 3 facility’s output will be marketed to distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the area.
If ever, the plant will complete the loop of the Agus hydropower complex, which have been planned to be segregated into seven hydro generation facilities.
Upon completion, the project shall bring the power supply of Mindanao to a safer level especially during the critical years of 2009.
The Agus 3 facility has long been delayed as compared to preliminary plans of implementation, because of unresolved right-of-way (ROW) problems and correspondingly fraught with security problems in the area.
Aside from its interest to develop the Agus 3 hydropower facility, Cunningham disclosed that they are also looking at another potential hydropower project in Mt. Balintingan, Nueva Ecija Feasibility studies, he said, have already been concluded and this led to the signing of a memorandum of agreement last month with the National Irrigation Administration and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) on water usage.
The company’s endeavors, it was emphasized, would primarily directed on harnessing further its expertise in hydropower development; and where opportunities abound, geothermal projects could also be an option.
The US firm is responsible for the development and now operation of the 150-MW Casecnan multipurpose irrigation and hydroelectric facility; which is under a build-operatetransfer arrangement with the NIA.
It similarly entered into BOT deals with the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC) for the 490-megawatt Tongonan geothermal plant in Leyte. The first 125-megawatt of the Upper Mahiao facility has already been handed over to the government last week.
Meanwhile, for the Agus hydropower complex, state-owned National Power Corporation initially pursued rehabilitation and upgrading of the other generation units by aggregate 100 megawatts that shall add up to the system this year.
The upgrading had been set as part of the shortterm solution to avert rotating power outages in Mindanao.
Based on forecasts, Mindanao area will likely suffer deficit of 340 megawatts this year; but the government assured that measures are being set in place to make up for any anticipated shortfall.
Over the long-term, plans are also set forth by the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) to link transmission lines from Leyte to Mindanao via submarine cable.
According to the transmission firm, new round of feasibility studies have already been completed by Chubu Electric of Japan.
The latest number crunching has put investment cost at $ 275 million, seen to be cheaper than the original estimate of $ 450 million supposedly for funding by the Asian Development Bank.
The Leyte-Mindanao interconnection project was put on hold by the Department of Energy (DOE), as set forth under the Power Development Plan, because of the anticipated commercial operation of the Mindanao coal-fired facility.
posted by philpower @ 5:03 PM,
