MANILA, Philippines - Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, has warned of a possible electricity price disruption due to the impending shutdown of the Malampaya deep water-to-gas power plant, noting it would be the longest closure of the facility.
Meralco assistant vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said the scheduled one-month shutdown could drive electricity prices higher but added that they are working with power companies to avoid a hike in rates.
“We are coordinating with the suppliers and transmission companies to mitigate any impact on the Luzon grid,†Fernandez said in an interview.
The Malampaya facility, which fuels three gas-fired power stations in Luzon with a combined capacity of 2,700 megawatts, will shut down for maintenance works from Nov. 8 to Dec. 8.
The plant’s closure will impact on two electricity-billing months, Fernandez said.
“It will affect two months – December and January,†he said.
But Fernandez assured that Meralco is working to avoid a power outage in the Luzon grid as a result of the maintenance shutdown.
“There are two concerns – is there enough capacity and what will happen to the prices?†he pointed out.
He said at the very least, there is likelihood that there won’t be power outages but the impact on prices would be difficult to control.
“We’re looking at all alternatives. We already planned for a shutdown. Our minimum goal is that there should be no power outage. The impact is on the price. Our goal is to bring it down,†Fernandez said.
He said power generators utilizing gas from Malampaya have committed to use liquid fuel.
The three plants that source power from Malampaya are the 1,200-MW Ilijan plant, the 1,000-MW Sta. Rita plant and the 500-MW San Lorenzo plant
“They can shift to another fuel,†Fernandez noted.
Korea Electric Power owns and operates the Ilijan plant while First Gen Corp. owns and operates the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo power plants.
A joint undertaking between the national government and the private sector, the Malampaya project is spearheaded by the Department of Energy and developed and operated by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (Spex) on behalf of joint venture partners Chevron Malampaya LLC and the Philippine National Oil Co-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC).