EDC plans restart of Tongonan plant in early 2014

Reported yesterday, the Philippines Energy Development Corp. (EDC) announces that “is able to accelerate the start of reliability runs and return to service of the three generating units of the 112.5-MW Tongonan power plant in coordination with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.”

“It is foreseen that this will happen on a successive basis, beginning with the first unit today (Dec. 19), followed by the last two units up to the first quarter of 2014.”

EDC said this comes after the company completed restoration of the damaged cooling tower of the power plant. Besides the Tongonan plant, EDC’s Unified Leyte geothermal power plant complex also sustained heavy damage due to the typhoon.

“For the other plants in Leyte, our technical team has identified cooling tower restoration as a critical activity, requiring replacement of fan blade assemblies, shrouds, fills and the main structures of the cooling towers themselves,” EDC said.

Existing spare parts stored in EDC’s warehouse were already used to restore the cooling towers of the Tongonan plant, given its “less extensive requirements.”

Last Nov. 27, EDC reported that it partially recommissioned the Upper Mahiao and Optimization plants — which form part of the Unified Leyte power complex.

These plants — which went on reliability runs — have successfully dispatched 57 MW to the grid.

The Unified Leyte complex — which straddles Ormoc City and municipality of Kananga — is composed of 125-MW Upper Mahiao plant, 232.5-MW Malitbog plant, 180-MW Mahanagdong plant, and 51-MW Leyte optimization plants.

EDC had said cooling towers of the Malitbog, Tongonan, and Mahanagdong power plants and part of the cooling system of the Upper Mahiao plant became inoperable due to significant damage.

Source: Business World Online