Philippine region Visayas aiming for own geothermal plant

Reported in news from the Philippines, “Governors in Eastern Visayas are finalizing a plan for a baseload geothermal power plant that will exclusively serve the requirements of the region, Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said in a phone interview yesterday.

Mr. Petilla said the plan will be pursued if the generating plants at the Tongonan geothermal fields, the largest in the country with capacity of over 500 megawatts (MW), will not be able to assure the region of reliable power supply. A check with the Web site of the National Grid Power Corporation of the Philippines showed that the entire Visayas lacked 327 MW yesterday.

“The generating plants and ancillary services have posed electricity shortage problems and an increase in power rates in Eastern Visayas. It is ironic to note that we are the power source and yet we are experiencing power interruptions,” Mr. Petilla said, noting there are five electric cooperatives serving his province alone which require over 100 MW.

“We are still finalizing the blueprint for this plan, but the suggestion is to have a geothermal plant that would supply the baseload supply for the region,” he added.
While he confirmed the plan, Northern Samar Governor Paul R. Daza said in a separate phone interview that they should first wait to see if the power supply situation in the entire Visayas will normalize before the region pursues the plan to build its own power-generating plant. This, as two new baseload plants are expected to boost the generation capacity of the Visayas by the first quarter next year. “It is an option should we continue to experience power shortage. In Northern Samar, we usually experience longer brownouts, mainly caused by transmission maintenance work,” Mr. Daza said.

The plan has also reportedly gained support from Samar Gov. Sharee Ann T. De los Santos and Eastern Samar Gov. Conrado M. Nicart, but they were not immediately available for confirmation.”

Source: Business World