Phinma Energy defers building 900-MW coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan

By Lenie Lectura – February 5, 2017

from Business Mirror

PHINMA Energy Corp. has deferred plans to put up a 900-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan.

“Deferred. Maraming supply. Who knows that by 2020 we may go for it?” Phinma Energy President Francisco Viray said.

He said the company might revisit plans to push through with the power project “between 2020 and 2025”.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was earlier signed between Phinma Energy and the local government of Sual. If plans push through, this will be the second power plant to be located in Sual.

Viray was president of the National Power Corp. during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos, who first came to Sual in 1993 to ask the people to support the planned power project. Under the MOA, the power firm plans to offer scholarships to deserving students of Sual at the University of Pangasinan.

Phinma Energy is an integrated power-solutions company engaged in power generation and electricity supply, renewable energy and resource exploration and development.

Last week  Phinma Energy reported it had registered an additional 171 MW from close to 100 new contestable customers (CCs).

“We have 171 MW more. The close to 100 customers have submitted their requirements and we are still working to grow that number,” Phinma Energy Assistant Vice President Danielle del Rosario said.

This brings the company’s number of CCs to over 200 to date, with an equivalent  capacity of 400 MW.

The additional customers mostly came from the manufacturing sector, business-process outsourcings, office buildings, malls and schools, among others.

“Most of them are from Meralco’s [Manila Electric Co.] franchise area while others are from other distribution utilities. We were able to switch some of them last December and January this year. There will be a few more switching to us this February or before the deadline,” del Rosario said.

Based on amended rules of the retail competition and open access [RCOA] policy, an end-user with an average monthly peak demand of at least 1 MW is mandated to enter into a Retail Supply Contract [RSC] with an RES by its mandatory contestability date of February 26, 2017.

Mandatory contestability for CCs with 750 kilowatt (kW) to 999-kW average peak demand remains to be effective on June 26, 2017.

The rules also state the lowering of the threshold to cover an end-user with an average monthly peak demand of at least 500 kW is set on June 26, 2018.

“We want to be a significant player in RES,” del Rosario said.