Two more power plants have been slapped by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) with penalties for violating the maximum allowable days for unplanned and forced outages.
The ERC has rules on the allowable number of days unavailable for power plants utilizing pulverize coal; circulating fluidized bed coal; combined cycle gas; gas turbine; diesel-fired; geothermal; hydroelectric; oil-fired; and biomass technologies.
The rules apply to generation companies with conventional and non-variable renewable energy generating plants that are connected to the grid, including embedded generating plants with an aggregated capacity of 5 megawatts (MW) and above.
Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) has been fined for P135,400 while Team Sual Corp. (TSC) will have to pay a total of P4.79 million.
In two separate decisions published by the ERC on October 20, SLPGC’s 150 megawatts (MW) unit 2 coal plant in Batangas had a total unplanned outage of 17.44 days from January 3 to April 25 and exceeded the maximum allowed 16.9 days. TSC’s 647 MW unit 1 coal plant in Quezon Province had an outage equivalent to 27.48 days from January 3 to March 22 and exceeded the allowed 16.8 days allowance. Its 647 MW unit 2’s total unplanned shutdown logged at 113 days from January 3 to April 2 which is way beyond the allowable 16.8 days allowance.
The ERC earlier slapped fines of P6.03 million on three power plants for similar violations.
SPC Island Power Corp.’s 12.93 MW unit Foxtrot diesel power plant in Panay was down for 112 days against the allowable 14 days and was ordered to pay a total of P4.03 million worth of fines.
State-run firm Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.’s 350 MW unit 2 of the Malaya thermal power plant in Rizal which did not operate for 49 days, above the 27.80 days allowed will have to pay P980,400.
As for the Energy Development Corp., its 49.37 MW Nasulo geothermal power plant in Negros Oriental bogged down for 36.34 days that is beyond the allowed 13.70 days and will have to pay a total of P1.02 million.
