CDO vs. Kepco-SPC lifted

CEBU, Philippines - Just two days after its issuance, Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong lifted the Cease and Desist order against Korean Electric Power Corp.- Salcon Power Corp.(Kepco-SPC), CDO yesterday following the company’s submission of the action plan demanded by the city.

 Victorio Naval, Kepco-SPC general manager, said that they will check the integrity of the immediate solution but they are glad that the CDO was lifted since the demand of energy supply is expected to increase, especially with the month of December fast approaching.

“We cannot afford to lose fuel and stop the plant operation. Otherwise, there would be massive power shortage. When the month of December comes in, the demand scenario steeply increase.”

 Last November 13, Chiong issued Kepco-SPC a CDO for loading and unloading coal for their coal-fired power plant in Barangay Colon, Naga.

Residents living near the power plant complained that dust have reached their houses which reportedly came from the coal yard of the plant.

Kepco-SPC later on admitted that the black dust came from raw coal delivered to the plant purposely for their two 100MW power plant units.

However, one of the two units is undergoing preventive maintenance which subsequently piled up on the newly-delivered raw coal.

But the company earlier assured that the concern have been addressed by immediately halting the unloading of coal as well as decreasing the stockpile height of the coal and by spraying water to guarantee that dust within the yard would not reach the houses.

“We are very sorry for what happened but we consider that incident as very isolated. Previous to that, there were no similar incidents,” said Naval after the company’s meeting yesterday with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

Garcia earlier promised that she will be meeting with Kepco-SPC to get assurance that stringent measures be executed by the company to prevent concerns like this, which primarily affects the residents living near the plant.

Mayor Chiong, upon the issuance of the CDO, said that it would only be lifted when Kepco-SPC submits a detailed short and long term action plan for the plant and concerns like this.

The lifting of the CDO yesterday, as stated in the letter of  Mayor Chiong  to Bong Joo Choi, president of Kepco-SPC, stated that “the undersigned finds the firm’s Coal Handling Operation Action Development Plan detailing, both the immediate and long term solutions to the problem, satisfactory.”

The letter stated that Kepco-SPC President Choi issued a written commitment to the Mayor, assuring that they would implement the extensive action plans that they have submitted.”

With the lifting of the CDO, coal deliveries will now resume. 

In the seven-page document and commitment, Choi also assured the city that they will implement a definitive action plan in order to address, solve and prevent the occurrence of the spread of coal dust to the residents living near the power plant.

“Upon receipt of such CDO, KSPC was able to submit certain definitive action plans in compliance with the conditions of the CDO in order that KSPC be allowed again to unload and transport coal,” the letter reads. 

Among their immediate solutions to the problem, they said the stock pile height will also be maintained below the wind barrier level during the normal and critical conditions. 

They also assured the strict monitoring of the wind speed, and once the anemometer reading reaches 8.0 m/s, the unloading will be stopped automatically. The equipment used inside the coal yard will have a speed limit of not more than 10 kph.

The management will also be adopting a dust suppression system that they will operate.

This includes that no operation will be conducted during rainy weather and additional water hose will be connected to the tripper area to spray top of coal piles. 

There will also be designated adequate personnel that will clean and monitor the temporary diversion road area during the unloading. 

The KSPC will also organize and hire street clean-up teams for every coal unloading event on site in coordination with barangay officials in Colon and North Poblacion. 

The KSPC also promised the mayor that they will conduct a quarterly consultation meeting with the barangay officials and residents in the area. 

As part of their long-term solution, the KSPC said they will install additional dust suppression system and a net cover will be installed in the open yard of the coal plant. 

“This is to ensure that coal dust is contained with the coal yard area, net/wire mesh covering the entire open yard shall be installed including the repair of damaged wind barrier nets,” the report read.  (FREEMAN)