Tag Archives: power supply

Two Energy Giants break ground in Misamis Oriental

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BusinessWeek Mindanao Online
July 23, 2014

TWO of the country’s leading power companies have joined hands to bring a new level of excellence in power distribution in Mindanao.

“The Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company (CEPALCO) has contracted MERALCO Industrial Engineering Services Corporation (MIESCOR) to undertake the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) of its 138 kV/69 kV Substation in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental with two (2) 150 MVA power transformers,” said Ms. Marilyn A. Chavez, senior manager, CEPALCO Customer & Community Relations Department.

“The Scope of Work for this component of the EPCC contract includes the detailed design, manufacturing, supply, delivery, erection, installation, system integration and testing and commissioning of the 138/69kV Substation, plus associated telecommunication and protection facilities,” she added.

MIESCOR is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Philippines’ largest electric utility, the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) while CEPALCO is the country’s fourth, and second largest in Mindanao.

Since its incorporation in December 1973, MIESCOR has chalked up an exemplary record of engineering performance backed up by a pool of highly competent technical manpower. The company has amassed a wealth of experience in power generation, transmission and distribution, petrochemical/chemical and industrial plants, water resources, transportation and telecommunication system and building services.

The project is expected to take 427 Calendar days. By June 30, 2014 the substation is expected to be capable of transmitting back-feed power supply and completed by July 31, 2015.

Ms. Chavez said the project was spurred by CEPALCO’s load growth in the 69 kV and below systems which have substantially increased over the past three years due to recent developments in large industrial and commercial loads.

“Critical to these developments is the assurance that these locators will be provided with adequate and reliable power supply,” she noted.

Currently, majority of the CEPALCO’s residential, commercial and industrial customers in the entire franchise area are being indirectly served by the 69 kV backbone sub -transmission system before they are stepped-down to the medium-voltage (34.5 kV and 13.8 kV) and low-voltage (230 volts) distribution systems.

“The ground breaking for the construction of CEPALCO’s first ever 138 kV substation is another milestone and confirmation of our commitment to meet the growing needs of our valued customers, especially with the remarkable business boom within CEPALCO’s service area,” said Consuelo G. Tion, CEPALCO President and Chief Operating Officer during the ground breaking rites held 22 July 2014 at the project site in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

“It is with joy and pride that I welcome all of you to this momentous event because I have been a witness to how much CEPALCO has grown over the years, and our accomplishments in terms of continuously improving the quality of our services to customers show how strong and committed we are as a service company,” she added.

“We are proud to be CEPALCO’s partner in its first 138kV substation,” said Engr. Angelito D. Bermudo, MIESCOR President and CEO, “However, we are convinced Mindanao has a vast potential beyond this initial engagement and we look forward to undertake more projects in this region soon.”

Aside from the new substation, MIESCOR is also building the Tagoloan-Balingasag 138kV sub-transmission line for Minergy Coal Corporation, another wholly-owned affiliate of CEPALCO.

The sub-transmission line will interconnect the 110MW coal fired power plant of Minergy Coal in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental to the distribution system of CEPALCO. Rated at 138 kV and configured as a double-circuit in steel pole structures, the 37-km line will be constructed using 785 MCM ACSR conductors with 3/8 inch diameter Optical Fiber Ground Wire (OFGW) as its neutral. Its route will be along the National highway.

Besides the two ancillary projects for Minergy’s coal fired power plant, MIESCOR is also concurrently constructing a new substation for the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in Opol, Misamis Oriental on a four-hectare site along the national highway in Barangay Awang, Opol some 15.5 kilometers west of its Carmen substation.

NGCP said in an earlier statement the planned Opol substation would reinforce the 60-kilometer Lugait-Carmen 69-kilovolt (kV) line constructed in 1966 which has already been experiencing a 90 percent peak load of its rated capacity. The grid operator estimates peak load could reach 103 percent this year hence the urgent need to replace it with the Opol 138-kv line.

“Rapid progress in Misamis Oriental necessitates the construction of a new, strategically-located substation to accommodate customers’ loads and eliminate possible line overloading and voltage problem,” the NGCP said. “With the projected economic progress and load growth, both the line and substation would no longer meet the increasing demand requirements in the next few years.”

The three projects together represent a PhP 2.2-billion investment in the Misamis Oriental towns of Tagoloan, Villanueva, Jasaan and Balingasag in the province’s east coast and Opol in the West.

Mr. Bermudo said the three projects proximity to each other in terms of area and timeline will enable MIESCOR to leverage its strategic advantages for the benefit of its clients, especially its newly acquired state-of-the-art software. By Mike Banos, Editor-at-large.

Brunei eyes LNG facilities in Mindanao

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September 19, 2012
By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The energy ministry of Brunei Darussalam has expressed interest to put up liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Mindanao, including the construction of a 300-megawatt gas-fired power plant to serve as an anchor load.

According to Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras, the Philippine government extended the invitation to Brunei to “have a serious look at the LNG prospects in Mindanao” during the 20th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ summit in Vladivostok, Russia, earlier this month.

“They have expressed interest. They said they will come over and study it. The minister of energy of Brunei was very pleased with my invitation because they have also made a decision that they just don’t want to be a supplier of natural gas. [Brunei] also wants to integrate downstream initiatives,” Almendras explained. “I hope that we can interest them into becoming a natural gas power generator for Mindanao.”

Should the proposed investments push through, the LNG project in Mindanao would be a first for the island and the first foray of the Brunei government into LNG downstream investments outside its country.

The energy chief noted that the move to invite investors to look at prospective LNG projects in Mindanao was aligned with the Philippine government’s efforts to provide more sustainable solutions to the perennial power supply problems on the island.

A recent World Bank study on the feasibility of LNG projects in Mindanao has identified several potential locations, including Davao, General Santos, Iligan, Cagayan de Oro and the Phividec industrial complex in Misamis Oriental.

The study, according to the Department of Energy, looked into “parallel markets that will also use natural gas such as the industrial, commercial application as well as the transport sector to help pay for the costs of the proposed LNG terminal” since the power demand in Mindanao is not big enough to serve as anchor market for the LNG facility.

Power supply critical in Mindanao, ample in the Visayas – DOE chief

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The Philippine Star
February 20, 2011

Power supply,coal-powered plants,cebu,Phil chamber of commerce and industry,cold weather,oi-fired generation plant,national power corporation.

MANILA, Philippines – Luzon may get lucky to experience no brownouts this dry season despite tight power supply that requires 300 megawatts more during day-time peak hours.

The Visayas, except for a few islands, has escaped the power crisis with the commissioning of three new coal-powered plants in Cebu and Panay.

The new plants will be more than enough to meet peak demand and required reserve margins in the central Philippines group of islands.

The daily brownouts in Mindanao may persist this year as no new generating capacity is expected to be added.

These are the hard facts on the electric power situation in the country presented by Energy Secretary Jose Almendras in a dialogue with leaders of the business community led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) the other day.

We have had a little luck as electricity demand in Luzon went down last December and in January because of the cold weather, Almendras said.

The biggest island, he admitted, is not yet off the hook. It now has very thin reserve and may need to import the excess capacity in the Visayas and activate the retired oil-fired generation plant in Navotas if the situation deteriorates.

We are monitoring the performance of the power plants daily and checking if private sector owners of the sold National Power Corp. (Napocor) plants are upgrading the efficiency of aging plants he explained.

Mindanao needs 500 MW in non-hydro power capacity

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By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted September 19, 2010

MANILA, Philippines—Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras wants the Mindanao grid to have at least 500 megawatts (MW) in baseload generation capacity from non-hydro sources such as coal, to insulate the island from severe power outages and unstable supply in the near future.

“Our problem in Mindanao is our overdependence on hydropower,” Almendras said.

With climate change and the dry spell brought about by the El Niño phenomenon, water resources get scarce, threatening power supply in Mindanao, he said.

Almendras said the 500 MW of non-hydro baseload generation capacity was needed in Mindanao “since we cannot predict exactly what the water levels will be in Mindanao in the coming years.”

At present, Mindanao gets more than half of its electricity requirements from hydropower sources, with the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex providing more than 900 MW. The drought experienced early this year reduced the water levels at the dams and cut power generating capacities on the island to less than 10 percent.

“Estimates show that power supply shortfall in Mindanao will only be 50 MW in 2011 but that is because of the assumption that all the hydropower plants will be on stream all year round. In order to insulate Mindanao from power outages, the most ideal thing is to install 500 MW of non hydro capacity,” Almendras said.

Over the next 20 years, Mindanao would need 2,500 MW in new capacity, according to Almendras.

He admitted that given the present situation, Mindanao must rely on clean coal-fired facilities to provide the additional capacity.

The good news, he said, was that the government had received commitments from private companies to push through with their coal projects in Mindanao.

Almendras said Conal Holdings Corp. of the Alcantara family would push through with the 200-MW coal facility (SM 200) in Sarangani, the first phase for which will start operating by 2012 while Phase 2 will be available by 2013. The same company, he added, will put up another 100-MW coal facility in Zamboanga (ZAM 100).

Steag State Power, Inc—composed of Aboitiz Power Corp., Evonik Steag GmbH of Essen, Germany, and the La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp.—is seen putting up a 200-MW coal plant in Misamis Oriental, he added.

“Although there is no definite schedule yet, we are in talks with them for a possible 24-month implementation,” he added.

The energy chief further admitted however that electricity prices in Mindanao would have to increase gradually to reflect the true cost of power and encourage the private sector
to infuse investments into the power sector on the island.

“The bigger challenge in Mindanao is the price. Our brothers in Mindanao have benefited from the low cost of hydro generation all these years, and going by the balance of power and supply, we cannot afford to put in too much technology that will result in a spike in the prices,” Almendras said.