Ronaldo Ramos, COO of AboitizPower Thermal Business Group, notes the contingency of Cebu’s rapidly advancing economy on the security of its energy during the “Good Design. Good Business Summit” of the Cebu Business Months 2024.
Aboitiz Power (AP) eyes 2028 for the completion of their third coal plant in Toledo City, with construction to begin in 2025 upon securing government permits.
Prior to beginning construction of the plant, AboitizPower Thermal Business Group, Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) looks forward to the environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and system impact study from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) while it secures bids from equipment suppliers, Ramos, states at the summit, adding, “Hopefully, by the first quarter of 2025, we should be able to secure the permits for the third plant.”
A joint venture between AP and Vivant Corp, TVI operates in Toledo with two coal-fired plants with 150 megawatts (MW) capacity.
“The site is already built and is provisioned for a third unit… We just have to put the steam turbine generator and the boiler,” said former AP president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio in an online briefing on April 22.
This project is slated to continue and power Cebu’s economic grid to support its power security, with permits already having been secured before the moratorium on new coal-fired plants issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2020. The moratorium remains effective.
The power demand for Cebu Province will increase to around 1,400 MW by 2026. The DOE projects that unless new baseload plants are constructed, Cebu will outpace its supply by 2027.
With a growth rate of 7.3% in 2023 totaling to an estimated P1.3 trillion up from P1.29 trillion in 2022, Central Visayas is the fastest-growing regional economy in the country.
Cebu, particularly Cebu City and the Visayan Electric franchise, consumes half the power demand of the whole Visayas region, according to NGCP.
“With the growth that we are expecting at around seven percent per year, we expect the demand to be around 100 to 120 megawatts of power on an annual basis,” he said.
The hopes for Cebu’s economic prosperity are thrown in peril because of its erratic energy supply. In the last 6 years, no new baseload plant has been erected yet.
On May 29 2024, the Visayas grid was raised to a yellow alert status amid fluctuating power supply brought about by forced outages and diminishing capacities of its power plants.
“The Visayas grid experienced its highest peak of 2,525 MW last April. A lot of it was brought about by the additional consumption from El Niño. It represents a three percent increase from a previous high of 2,458 MW in 2023,” said Ramos.
“This is a clear indication that demand is growing… but there are not enough investments on the supply side,” he added.
An average of 3 to 4 power outages are reported per week by Cebu businesses, each one lasting between 1 to 2 hours.
A globally sought-after energy source, coal is the most cost-effective of fuel options with the largest reserves. Coal remains the largest component of the power mix, at 58% as of 2021.
“Now that clean coal technologies are available, the demand for coal has remained steady despite the current stringent standard on environmental concerns,” the DOE said on its website.
According to TVI’s website, the Toledo-based power plant uses the Circulating Fluidized Bed and the Best Available Control Technology to minimize coal dust emissions that can harm the atmosphere.
The Toledo-based power plant protects the atmosphere by minimizing coal dust emissions using the Circulating Fluidized Bed and the Best Available Control Technology according to TVI’s website.