Power supply is expected to stabilize within the month with the re-integration of 1,200 megawatts (MW) power capacity from the Ilijan gas-fired power plant to the Luzon grid
San Miguel Corp. (SMC), through its subsidiary, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP), said the Ilijan plant is targeted to be back in operation by May 26 with the arrival of the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import shipments.
“With the re-integration of the Ilijan power plant into the power grid system, the country will be better assured of energy supply security these coming summer months and beyond.
Hopefully, with all available power facilities operating–with no plants breaking down or going on unscheduled shutdown — we will have more than enough capacity for the rest of the year, and consumers will not have to experience brownouts or supply rotations,” said Ramon Ang, SMC president, in a statement.
SMC said the arrival of AG&P International Pte. Ltd.’s 137,000-billion cubic meters
LNG shipment last week, through the ISH floating storage unit at its import terminal in Batangas Bay also involved the cooling down of the cryogenic lines of the facility to prepare for the delivery of processed natural gas to the Ilijan power plant.
SMC is hopeful the Batangas terminal is only the first of several facilities to be opened in the country starting this year, as the government ramps up importation of LNG as part of efforts to ensure supply security and transition to cleaner sources of power.
LNG is considered as a transition fuel as it enables countries to move away from coal power without compromising the continuing need for affordable and reliable baseload power, while also targeting wider adoption of renewable energy over the longer term.
