EDC bags Bohol power supply deal
BY LENIE LECTURA – JULY 4, 2022
from Business Mirror
LOPEZ-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said Monday it has won a competitive auction for the power requirements of electric cooperatives (ECs) in Bohol.
EDC said it bagged a 10-year power supply deal contract that will enable it to supply electricity to the entire island of Bohol 2024 up to 2033. Moreover, the generation charge for this contract is approximately P4.70 per kilowatt hour (kWh) once the contract commences in January 2024. The rate is below the P5.4089 per kWh price cap set by the One Bohol Power Distribution Utilities (1BP DUs) and also cheaper than the current blended generation rates of all three Bohol electric cooperatives—-Bohol Electric Cooperative (BOHECO) 1, BOHECO 2, and Bohol Light Electric Cooperative.
During the competitive auction, EDC was declared by 1BP as the only bidder that successfully met their power requirements—a baseload power supply from a renewable energy source and an in-island backup power to ensure that Bohol will have a steady 24/7 supply of electricity even if it gets isolated from the grid amid natural catastrophes such as typhoon Odette, a category 5 typhoon that struck the province in December 2021.
Under the contract, EDC will supply 1BP 50 to 83 megawatts (MW) of power capacity to be sourced from its Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant, with an accompanying backup power supply from an in-island 85.12MW diesel-fired power plant that EDC and its partner will build in the province of Bohol.
Upon completion of the diesel power plant, it will be the first time Bohol province will have a backup source to keep its industry, tourism and residential sectors supplied with electricity even if the connection to Leyte Island is cut.
1BP’s power rate from the power supply contract with EDC is fixed and subject only to Philippine consumer price index (CPI) escalation despite having diesel for its backup power. The agreed rate will prevail even if EDC supplies 1BP’s requirements through the in-land diesel plant in instances of grid isolation.
Considered as the “Holy Grail” among the renewable energy (RE) technologies, geothermal energy is the only one that provides uninterrupted baseload power rain or shine, all year round, or what the leading RE firm refers to as Geo 24/7. Being powered by Geo 24/7 will enable 1BP and its power consumers to avoid about 312,355 to 524,757 tons of carbon dioxide in lieu of coal each year.
EDC’s over 1,480MW total installed capacity accounts for 20 percent of the country’s total installed RE capacity while its 1,184.6MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity and has put the Philippines on the map as the third largest geothermal producer in the world.
