EDC’s Leyte power plants still out of service

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez-owned geothermal firm Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said its 650-megawatt Unified Leyte power plants have been damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda, which ripped through Central Visayas on Nov. 8, and remain out of service.

 â€œNone of the main power plants constituting the 650 MW are currently operable,” EDC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday. 

The company said it is exerting all efforts to put the power plants back to service at the soonest possible time.

Leyte and other areas affected by Yolanda are still without electricity. Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has vowed to restore power to these areas by Dec. 24. 

The Unified Leyte plants consist of the 130-MW Upper Mahiao, 232-MW Malitbog, 180-MW Mahanagdong and 112.5-Tongonan power plants.

EDC said the cooling towers of the Malitbog, Tongonan and Mahanagdong power plants are not working due to the significant damage sustained.

In addition, part of the cooling system of Upper Mahiao plant was also damaged, EDC said.

The control systems of Tongonan, Mahanagdong and Upper Mahiao also sustained water damage.  

Furthermore, EDC said the small optimization plants consisting of the 15-MW Tongonan topping cycle and the 16-MW Malitbog bottoming cycle are now being assessed.  

The steam field lines, on the other hand, appear to be operable despite manifest damage sustained, EDC said, but quickly added that the company’s buildings, offices, administration buildings, warehouses, laboratories, staff housing facilities have sustained varying degrees of damage.