Semirara to allocate coal production for local use
In a critical balancing act that intends to address power supply security, the Department of Energy (DOE) has instructed Semirara Mining Corporation to just prioritize for now its coal supply commitment for domestic use.
The recent tragedy at the Semirara coal mine claimed several lives again, but the government cannot just hastily decide on its closure due to the fuel that it needs to supply to power plants.
Out of its remaining coal inventory, the energy department set out directive that such shall just be re-channeled to local demand for now.
In fact, this suggestion came directly from Semirara Mining and Power Corporation – having weighed already the consequences that the incident would have on the country’s electricity supply-demand balance.
DOE officer-in-charge Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada said the department is “inclined to issue a directive for SMPC to limit for domestic use its current coal stock to service local power plants.”
Since the incident happened, stoppage of mining operations at the site had been ordered by the energy department – at least until a conclusive outcome of ongoing investigations would have been established.
Monsada had emphasized that they are now coordinating with power plants as well as the cement firm-offtakers so they can assess their actual demand versus available inventory.
According to the department, the Semirara coal mine has been supplying roughly 1,593 megawatts of gridconnected power capacity that are mainly supplying the needs of Luzon and Visayas consumers.
Coincidentally, the coal mine’s main off-taker is the 600-megawatt Calaca coal-fired power plant in Batangas which is also owned by the Consunji group.
In the DOE’s expanded investigation of the disaster, it had drawn that “the incident was due to a slope failure characterized by the slumping of back-fill materials with a height of 61 meters.”
It further reckoned that “the continuous rainfall of two weeks prior may have played a factor.” The department has noted though that “the circumstances behind the recent incident were different from those of February 2013.”