Meralco unit pursues gas conversion project

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) is expecting to complete the conversion of its coal-fired power plant project in Quezon province into a gas-fired plant by 2029, the company’s top official said.

“There’s no clarity yet but the next window we’re looking for Atimonan is by 2028, 2029,” Meralco Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho said on the sidelines of a briefing last week.

Meralco Powergen Corp. (MGen), through its subsidiary Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E), is working on the development of a 2,400-megawatt natural gasfired combined cycle gas turbine power plant project.

“Because of the coal moratorium, it does not make sense to build a new one,” Mr. Aperocho said of the company’s plan to pursue the conversion of the coalfired power plant project.

In 2020, the Energy department issued a moratorium on the development of new coal-fired power plants.

Data from the Environmental Management Bureau showed that A1E is investing about P175 billion in the project, which is targeted for commercial operations by 2029.

The project includes building of an LNG storage unit, LNG unloading facility, and LNG regasification system.

LNG is also being put forward as a solution to the Philippines’ looming power crisis.

Meralco said that local permits for the projects have already been secured and that the right-of-way acquisition is almost complete at 95%.

MGen has said that A1E has been certified by the Department of Energy as an energy project of national significance, allowing expedited permits and reviews by local and national government agencies.

In 2023, MGen announced that it would allocate P18 billion for renewable energy expansion as part of the company’s aspiration to shift to clean energy.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

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