The Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco) will acquire additional baseload power of bunker feed 20MW power through a competitive selection process (CSP) set in October.
Engr. Nelson Lalas, general manager of PALECO, said during the general membership meeting of the Puerto Princesa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PPCCI) that the total dependable capacity as of June 2019 is 70.20 MW while the demand is 56.7 MW in the whole province with a reserve of 13.5 MW.
The 20MW additional baseload is in preparation for the eventual termination of interim power supply agreement of DMCI Power which 25 MW, 15MW of which is coal.
“Kasi ang supply contract ng DMCI na 25MW kung saan 15MW dito ay mula sa itatayong coal plant, ay interim lang. Yung mga maliliit na engines nila ay mawawala na,” Lalas said.
He said that Puerto Princesa City alone sa total demand for 41MW.
The city’s business sector raised their concern on the possible increase in the demand once the new investors start come in.
The city government is set to hold an investment forum on September 25 in Manila to invite potential businesses to invest in Puerto Princesa City.
Lalas explained that PALECO has commenced the installation of substations in the southern and northern portion of the city to isolate the Puerto Princesa grid from the rest of the province.
“Ang problema kasi kapag naapektuhan ang Puerto Princesa, kapag nawalan ng kuryente ang ibang portion ng grid,” he said.
Lalas recognized the impact of frequent outages on the economy of the province
“We can’t talk on progress or industrialization kung ang power ay hindi reliable,” he said.
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