Toledo plant to add 150 MW to Visayas grid before year end

A new power plant that will provide an additional 150 MW to the Visayas grid will be operational in September at the earliest or before this year ends, the Department of Energy (DOE) regional office said.

DOE Science Research Specialist Keelvin Ed Dajao of the DOE’s Energy Industry Management Division said the Toledo City-based plant will be operated by Therma Visayas Inc., a subsidiary of AboitizPower.

He said the plant’s 150 MW output will help augment the Visayas grid considering that peak demand for the region went up to 2,013 MW in the first half of the year, nearing the combined 2,100 MW output of the Visayas power plants.

“The 2,013 MW demand for the first half of the year is higher compared to the 1,989 megawatts peak demand last 2017,” Dajao said. He said the Visayas grid has power reserves of 1,500 MW

“Also, we don’t have major interruptions compared to last year, wherein Leyte has experienced strong earthquake which has really affected our power plants located in the province,” he said.

He said Therma Visayas Inc. also has another plant project that will generate another 150 MW for next year.

Dajao also said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) fast tracked the P52 billion Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection project which will link power grids in Visayas and Mindanao, via Cebu and Zamboanga.

“NGCP would be installing high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system from Dumanjug and overhead posts throughout Santander. Then from Santander, a submarine cable will be installed that would connect to Dapitan area,” Dajao said. The project is expected to be completed in 2021.