STARTING today, the 1,2000 megawatt (MW) Ilijan power plant will no longer source fuel from the Malamapaya gas field.
“Malampaya is about to conclude its Gas Supply and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with the National Power Corp. (NPC) for supply of indigenous natural gas to the 1,200MW Ilijan gas-fired power plant,” said Malampaya operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. in a statement.
SPEX and partners expressed appreciation to the NPC and the following entities: Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm); KEPCO Ilijan Corp. (Kepco); and, Department of Energy for their “great collaboration in powering progress of our economy with domestic natural gas for over two decades now.”
While the Ilijan plant is currently being operated by Kepco, the plant is still owned by Psalm. The state firm took over the assets of the NPC.
The DOE allayed concerns that power supply may not be enough brought about by the expiration of the GSPA for Ilijan.
“Our supply outlook is good and we do not foresee any alert relative to the end of natural gas supply agreement with Ilijan power facilities,” DOE Director for Electric Power Management Industry Bureau (EPMIB) Mario C. Marasigan said.
When asked where what type of fuel can Ilijan utilize now, Marasigan said one option is “they may use diesel while waiting for the operation of LNG [liquefied natural gas] facilities,” albeit more expensive than gas.
Also, Ilijan’s Build-Operate-Transfer contract will expire soon. The plant will soon be turned over to its Independent Power Producer Administrator (IPPA), which, in this case, is South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC), a subsidiary of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. of the San Miguel group.
The power arm of the conglomerate is set to bring in LNG to fuel its gas plants, including Ilijan, sometime August this year.
DOE Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella earlier said the plant was being prepared for turnover to SPPC. Part of the turnover process was for the agency’s representatives to visit the plant “to look into the details of fuel and power output relating to whether there will be red [alerts] or yellow alerts going to happen.”