Sual coal-fired power plant now back online, says DOE

BY LENIE LECTURA – MAY 2, 2023
from Business Mirror

The 647-megawatt (MW) Sual coal-fired power plant (CFPP) Unit 1 is now back online following a 3-day unplanned maintenance shutdown, an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) said over the weekend.

From April 29 to May 1, Sual was offline to resolve the build-up of a leak from the plant’s boiler tube and cleaning of the generator stator lot bar to rectify increase in temperature. No power interruptions were reported.

“Concerns with Sual units 1 and 2 were resolved and both are operating, as planned. Sual unit 2 is fully operational while unit 1 is maintained max level of 580MW until further repair and maintenance activities are done by June or July,” said DOE Undersecretary Mario Marasigan.

It can be recalled that on April 24, the DOE received a notice from Team Sual Corp. (TSC) that it had requested for an unplanned maintenance of its Sual Unit 1 from grid operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) from April 21-23 to a longer 7-day duration on May 5-11.

The DOE immediately dispatched its technical team to Sual for a site visit and discussed with TSC the alternative solutions to resolve the technical problems and mitigate possible power supply interruptions. The agency likewise immediately met with NGCP to identify actions to avert possible brownouts.

Based on the DOE assessment, a 7-day maintenance would result in a possible yellow alert, or worst, red alert on Weeks 18 (May 1 to 7) and Week 19 (May 8-142).

Meanwhile, the generator slot bar repair will be scheduled sometime in June or July. To avoid worsening the technical problem while waiting for the scheduled repair, Sual Unit 1 operates at a derated output of 580 MW from its full capacity of 647 MW.

The DOE said it will continue coordinating with all concerned stakeholders to ensure, to the full extent possible, an uninterrupted supply of power, especially during the hot dry season.