BPC aims to start operation of Malaya power plant in ’25
By Lenie Lectura – September 23, 2024
from Business Mirror
Belgrove Power Corp. (BPC), a subsidiary of Fort Pilar Energy Inc., is pursuing the rehabilitation of Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTPP) Unit 2 and the construction of the proposed 60 megawatt (MW) gas turbine power plant (GTPP) inside the MTPP complex.
The 600 megawatt (MW) MTPP was acquired from the government in 2021. It is old and dilapidated but was designated as a must-run unit (MRU) by the Department of Energy. As an MRU, MTPP is obligated to run and provide the needed power supply in the Luzon grid.
“Given the current state of the plant, MTPP is not yet fully operational. BPC intends to fully operate the Unit 2 while Unit 1 is in the process of decommissioning,” it said in a filing with the Environmental Management Bureau.
Once operational, Unit 2 (350MW) intends to provide ancillary services to the Luzon grid. However, the operation of the MTPP Unit 2 does not yet have environmental compliance certificate (ECC) as it started its operation before 1982. BPC is currently securing the necessary permits and clearances prior to project construction.
The company has secured an ECC for the 60MW GTPP. The project cost is estimated at P3.8 billion. Apart from the ECC, BPC said it will submit an environmental management plan to address potential environmental impacts of the 60MW GTPP.
The 60MW GTPP is also meant to provide dispatchable reserve (DR) service to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
“The construction of the GTPP is still ongoing and is expected to be finished within the year. The target commercial operation of the MTPP complex is April 2025,” BPC said in its filing.
BPC said the rehabilitation of 350MW MTPP Unit2 and the 60MW GTTP are intended for peaking and ancillary services for the Luzon grid and power quality improvement for distribution utilities to help ease the frequency and voltage problems.
In general, ancillary services are essential to sustaining the transmission capacity and maintaining the power quality, reliability, and security of the grid. Sudden fluctuations in the frequency and voltage of the transmission system are typically brought about by intermittent operations of the renewable energy plants, unplanned outages of conventional power plants, as well as the daily operational cycle of large power consumers.
