Toledo power firm backs full audit of power plants

CEBU, Philippines - Engr. Jesus Alcordo, president of the Global Business Power Corporation which is the umbrella company of the Toledo Power Company, expressed full support to the proposal of Fr. Francisco Silva of the National Electrification Administration calling for an audit of power plants in Cebu to avoid power outages in the province.

A full audit of power plants in Cebu is good for the economy of the province. It will ensure sustainable and reliable power, he said.

Alcordo also suggested that the power audit be expanded to cover all factors concerning the energy sector and not just on maintenance.

He said that there are three main concerns that face the power industry in Cebu today.

He cited the lack of the required reserve capacity to meet the fast-growing power demand of the province.

Electricity rates in the region are benchmarked against time-of-use rates of the National Power Corporation which do not reflect the true cost of generation and have not encouraged investments in new capacities over the years, he said.

Baseload capacities in the region all come from very old power plants, Alcordo said. He cited TPC’s 66-MW coal-fired power plant in Toledo City which is almost 30 years old.

“We have invested some P200 million in the power plant’s rehabilitation to improve its reliability. However, an old plant is an old plant. Much like a twenty or ten-year-old car, it can never be as efficient or as reliable as a new car regardless of how much is spent on it,” Alcordo said. 

Asked about possible solutions to the prevailing concern in the power sector, Alcordo said “the 246-megawatt clean coal power plant being constructed in Toledo City by the Cebu Energy Development Corporation, a consortium of the GBPC, Aboitiz Power Corporation, Vivant Energy Corporation and Formosa Heavy Industries Corporation, will fully address the supply and reliability problems of the Cebu power industry.” — PR/NLQ/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)