The North Negros Power Corp. (NNEPC) has signed a long term coal supply agreement with Thailand-based Energy Earth Public Company Ltd. (Energy Earth) for the supply of at least 20 million metric tons of coal for 25 years.
The agreement will ensure a steady supply of coal for NNEPC’s 150 megawatt (MW) power plant that they are developing in barangay Banquerohan, Cadiz City in Negros Occidental.
NNEPC is an affiliate of consortium Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc. (Apervi), a Bacolod-based mining, construction, and energy producer company, and Sparkling Capital Limited of France, a French power and investment firm.
In a press statement, Apervi president and chief executive officer Ceasar Ibañez Lao-as said the Apervi-Sparkling consortium and Energy Earth also signed a joint venture agreement for mining in Indonesia as well as a memorandum of understanding for the three firms to venture into other coal fired power plants in the country.
Other top officials of the Apervi-Sparkling consortium led by Lao-as joined the ceremony with Sparkling Commodities chairman Jacques Assouline signed the agreement with Energy Earth chairman Phisudhi Phihakendr last Monday at the L’Fisher Hotel, Bacolod City last Monday.
According to Lao-as, the long term coal supply agreement will ensure sustainable supply of coal for NNEPC’s P15.5- billion circulating fluidized bed-combustion (CFBD) coal-fired power plant that is expected to generate 150 MW to 300 MW of base power.
The additional power that is targeted to be operational by last quarter of 2018 is seen to address the 250-MW projected power deficit in Visayas that is expected to happen starting 2017.
Lao-as said the country’s current demand for coal is 14 million to 16 million metric tons for the existing power plants.
However, local suppliers can only supply up to 4 million metric tons leaving a supply gap of 10-million metric tons, which will have to be imported by the Philippines from other countries like Indonesia, China, and Thailand.
PH market
Lao-as said the partnership is also looking to cater to the needs of other power plants in the country aside from the NNEPC power plant they are developing.
“Apervi-Sparkling will also serve as a platform for Energy Earth to enter into the Philippine market. This is a stepping stone to achieve our goal of becoming a dominant player in the power production and coal supply industries in the country,” he said.
Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., who also attended the event, said in his speech that once the NNEPC power plant becomes operational, the province is seen to reach power independence.
This will open opportunities for major investments to start coming in and creating more job opportunities for the province like manufacturing, he said.
“With reliable power supply, we expect Negros to import more than sugar in the near future,” he said
Aside from boosting Negros Occidental’s revenue, the construction and development of the power plant project will also create 2,000 jobs for Negrenses, Lao-as said.
The power plant will also make the current prices of electricity cheaper in the province to P8 to P9 per kilowatt hour (kwh) from its current rate of P14 to P18 per kwh.
Cadiz City sources 80 percent of its power from Korean Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) in Naga, Cebu through a submarine cable.