Pagbilao expansion seen operational in late 2017
THE 420-MEGAWATT (MW) expansion of the Pagbilao coal-fired power plant in Quezon is scheduled to be operational by late 2017, data from the Energy department showed.
In its latest update on the private sector- initiated projects, the department said Pagbilao Energy Corp.’s ( PEC) project is slated for testing and commissioning starting mid-2017.
Commercial operations will follow in November 2017.
PEC — a joint venture of Therma Power, Inc. and TPEC Holdings Corp. — has budgeted nearly $1 billion for the project.
Therma Power is a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp.; while TPEC is a unit of TeaM Energy Corp.
The coal plant expansion will be located within the Pagbilao power station, which houses the existing 735-MW Pagbilao plant.
PEC tapped Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd. and Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors for the project.
Mitsubishi Hitachi will be responsible for the supply of the project’s major components like the boiler, steam turbine and generator, while Daelim will supply the other plant equipment and take charge of civil engineering and installation works on the site.
PEC in May last year signed a P33.309-billion omnibus loan agreement to partially fund the project.
AboitizPower, through Therma Luzon, Inc., is the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) of the existing Pagbilao coal- fired power plant after it submitted the highest bid of $691 million in an auction conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. in 2009.
As the IPPA, the company administers and manages the energy output of the power plant.
Meanwhile, TeaM Energy — a joint venture between Marubeni Corp. and Tokyo Electric Power Corp. — operates the plant under a build-operate-transfer contract that will expire in 2025.
AboitizPower is the power generation and distribution arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., which in turn is the listed holding firm of the Aboitiz family’s businesses.