DOE weighing options for 232-MW Mindanao coal-fired power plant
By Alena Mae S. Flores – February 9, 2025, 7:00 pm
from manilastandard.net
The Department of Energy is studying options for the 232-megawatt Mindanao coal-fired power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, as the planned rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric complex in Mindanao gets underway.
The DOE also welcomed congressional approval to extend the corporate life of the state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) for five years from June 26, 2026. PSALM manages the assets and liabilities of the National Power Corp.
“What has eluded us for decades now is the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said. “If we finish the rehabilitation…it will restore an additional 400 MW of hydropower in Mindanao, which is very significant.”
Lotilla said the Agus-Pulangi rehabilitation was delayed due to excess generation capacity in Mindanao.
“The best time for rehab was when we had excess capacity,” he said. “The challenge now is with Mindanao exporting up to 400 MW of power to the Visayas and even Luzon, and we have to rehabilitate the Agus and Pulangi plants one at a time. That means reduced capacity available in Mindanao.”
The energy chief said the Mindanao coal plant, owned by SPI Power Inc. (formerly STEAG State Power Inc.), could provide backup power during the rehabilitation.
SPI, controlled by the Aboitiz Group, operates the plant under a build-operate-transfer concession until 2031, after which the asset transfers to PSALM. The plant has a remaining operational life of 15 to 20 years.
“That will also mean you have to revisit whether the STEAG plant should be running or should be folded up,” Lotilla said.
“If the rehabilitation…takes place, in the next few years, we will need backup…to ensure sufficient power capacity,” he said.
“One of the options…is the retirement of STEAG in return for carbon credits that will help finance cleaner or renewable energy capacity. So, we will have to revisit or re-examine that move,” he said.
He said besides the Agus-Pulangi rehabilitation, “the possibility is now open for building the still unbuilt Agus 3 plant, which has a potential of another 225 MW.”
