Aboitiz Power Corp. said its subsidiary Therma Power-Visayas Inc. (TPVI) will decommission the 44.640 megawatts (MW) Naga oil-fired power plant and the 0.440 MW black start diesel engine generating unit in Naga, Cebu.
The company said in a statement Thursday it received a letter of confirmation (LOC) from the Department of Energy (DOE) for the decommissioning plan that is set to be pursued by end-March 2025, in view of the technical and operational issues of the plant caused mainly by the advanced age of the diesel engines.
The company did not reply to queries on the impact of the decommissioning but according to its website, TPVI has been utilizing the power plant’s capacity to provide the Visayas grid with stable access to ancillary services (AS).
AS is being utilized in the grid as the available generating capacity for dispatch to meet contingency reserve requirements when a power generating unit trips or a transmission interconnection problem occurs.
“Notices regarding the LOC will be sent to the appropriate offices and entities, including the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc. (IEMOP), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the Energy Regulatory Commission and other concerned bodies, in accordance with the DOE’s implementing guidelines on the decommissioning and mothballing of a generating plant,” Aboitiz Power said in its statement.
The company said TPVI acquired the Naga power plant complex from its previous operator, Salcon Power Corp., on July 16, 2018.
Since then, TPVI has undertaken extensive rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of the facility, Aboitiz Power added.
The oil-fired power plant is also part of the Naga power plant complex privatized by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., alongside the 52.5 MW Cebu 1 and 56.8 MW Cebu 2 coal-fired thermal power plants
