EDC continues to invest in rehabilitation of Tongonan geothermal plant, Leyte
Tongonan, Leyte Geothermal power plant, Philippines
Alexander Richter
27 Mar 2017
Energy Development Corp. (EDC) allocates $160 million in capital expenditure for 2017, with a large part of that to be used for continued rehabilitation work for its 112 MW Tongonan geothermal power plant in Leyte.
Reported today, Energy Development Corp., the Philippines’ largest geothermal and wind energy company, said it is allocating P8 billion ($160 million) for capital expenditures this year, slightly lower than in 2016. For 2016, the company had budgeted P8.2 billion for its capital expenditure.
According to sources close to the company, the budget for this year will be used mostly for rehabilitation efforts at its Tongonan geothermal plant and recurring capital expenditure.
The company owns the 112.5-megawatt Tongonan geothermal power plant in Leyte. The geothermal plant rehabilitation is now in its second and third phases with the entire works expected to be completed this year.
EDC tapped Siemens for the control systems integration and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems for turbine-generator of the Tongonan power plant.
“For this year, EDC will continue with its asset reliability program as it targets to finish the retrofit of the Tongonan power plant and the refurbishment of other generating units in Leyte,” EDC chief financial officer Nestor Vasay said earlier.
The company posted a net income of P9.72 billon ($193 million) last year, up 23.66 percent from P7.86 billion in 2015.
EDC’s core net income also went up 4 percent to P9.16 billion ($182 million) in 2016 from P8.8 billion in 2015, on improved performance and lower operating expenses of Negros Island and First Gen Hydro business units. Revenues reached P34.2 billion last year ($680 million).
“The Bacman and Nasulo geothermal plants were amongst the most exposed to last year’s record-low electricity spot market prices. A reported 25 percent average drop in prices for these plants resulted in a revenue loss of over P1.4 billion ($28 million) full-year,” Vasay said.
Vasay said EDC had “moved quickly to address and manage the downside from potentially low spot market prices.” EDC lined up supply contracts that would cover 100 percent of Bacman’s capacity and almost 80 percent of Nasulo.
Mindanao and Palinpinon geothermal power plants also recorded revenue increases from a combination of higher sales volume and average contract price.
“As we had been telling our investors, our focus for the past years has been embarking on initiatives to deliver financial predictability?some benefits of which we expect to see starting this year,” EDC said.
Source: Manila Standard
