by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
While the deficiency of power supply in Mindanao remains critical, the AboitizPower, a private-owned company, has proposed a coal-fueled power plant in Davao City to generate 200 megawatts electric power.
“AboitizPower wants to be a part of the solution to the Mindanao power crisis by building a circulating fluidized-bed coal plant within Davao City,” the president and chief executive officer of the AboitizPower, Erramond Aboitiz, told an audience October 5 at Bistro Rosario, Davao City.
The urgent need to have additional baseload power plants, which would produce “the power required to meet the minimum demands based on the expectations of customer requirements,” was mentioned by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), in an earlier statement.
“There is substantially less energy traffic within the Mindanao grid, and the energy demands of Mindanao cannot be met. It is for this reason that Mindanao has started to experience, again, a spate of brownouts,” the NGCP said.
Because Mindanao needs baseload power plants, Aboitiz pointed out the need to diversify some of the sources of power. Among the power sources, “coal is the right choice because of the price,” he said.
When asked how much would be the generation cost, Aboitiz said that, including capital expenditures, it will be between P4.50 to P5 per kilowatt hour (kwh), compared to oil fueled power plant that costs above P6 per kwh.
Expected to consume 800,000 tons of coal a year which will be imported from Kalimantan, Indonesia, the proposed power plant was opposed by Mayor Sara Duterte because of its long term environmental effect. However, she told reporters earlier that if it gets the support of the majority, she will concede to it.
Business leaders: OK
Along with the city vice mayor, Rodrigo Duterte, who endorsed the coal power plant after the proposal was recently presented to the city council, leaders of the business sector have also shown their support for it.
Robert C. Quinto, chairperson of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), said, “In my personal capacity, I would support the coal plant. This is one of the solutions we’re waiting for. Davao cannot grow as fast if we lack energy. The environment will not be disregarded. There’s a right way to do it.”
A trustee of the DCCCII, and chairman of the Mindanao Electric Power Alliance (MEPA) and the Mindanao Business Council, Vicente T. Lao said, “This will be good for Davao because we will no longer have brownouts once the 200 megawatts plant of Aboitiz is in place in Davao City.”
On the other hand, Leo Avila, acting chief of the city agriculture office said, “Aboitiz must be able to convince civil society that the technology their plant will use truly “clean coal” technology. That is really the issue they need to address.”
Saying that producing “zero carbon footprints is impossible to attain”, Aboitiz told reporters that the stakeholders need to get to understand the project more. What’s important is that we are “reducing the carbon footprints”, he said.
The “clean coal” technology, which lowers emission of carbon, according to Aboitiz, has 36 to 37 percent efficiency.
He said the city’s benefits from hosting the plant would include investments of upward of P15 billion, P0.01/kwh share of total electricity sales as financial benefit, and regular employment for up to 200 people in the plant.
The people in Davao city have yet to assess priorities: whether promotion of investment or conservation of the environment. But Vice Mayor Duterte said: “We are in a democracy. If they get the approval of the majority of Davao, I would be forced to bow down to it.”
