Salcon building 2 plants in Naga; mayor happy

The Salcon Power Corporation (SPC) will build two new coal-fired power plants in the city of Naga by the end of 2015, and Mayor Valdemar Chiong is happy with the development.

Chiong issued his statement of support yesterday after officials from the power firm announced their plan to build a new facility instead of rehabilitating the existing structures inside the Naga Power Complex.

“We have no opposition to that. In fact, we are very happy that this happened because we were concerned with the health risks of the power plant in the surrounding barangays,” explained the mayor.

Barangay officials from Naga, Chiong and Salcon senior manager Cesar Villegas appeared before the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) after residents living near the area expressed opposition over the “mere rehabilitation of the old, worn-out plant.”

Chiong had led a rally in front of the power plant to protest its rehabilitation last July, saying the old plant would pose health risks to communities near the facility.

Yesterday, Villegas announced that they will not pursue the rehabilitation of the plant after assessing its condition.

“It will not be wise for us to do that as recommended by a team from Korea and China who did the assessment,” he told officials.

Instead, Villegas said they will continue operating the diesel power plant, the land-based gas turbine plant and thermal power plant inside the complex pending construction of the new power plants.

The three existing plants can still produce up to 56 megawatts (MW) for the Visayas grid by December, he said.

As for the construction of the new power plants, he said Salcon has already tapped an international consulting firm to conduct a feasibility study for the project which will be done in six to nine months.

“We expect the feasibility study to show us the recommended and appropriate technology, design, size, capacity, coal specification, etc,” Villegas said.

Once finished, Villegas said the two coal-fired power plants will add 200 megawatts to the Visayas grid and address the region’s power problems by 2018.