Calaca plant expansion expected to start in 2018

St. Rafael Power Generation Corp., a joint venture of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. and Meralco PowerGen Corp., expects to sign the contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the 700-megawatt coal plant expansion in Calaca, Batangas in the second half.

Energy Department data showed that St. Rafael wanted to start the construction of the expansion project next year.

“Target notice to proceed [is] first half 2018. Target financial close first [is] half 2018,” the documents showed.

The St. Rafael coal project is one the indicative power projects identified by the department to support rising demand.

The department said the project’s commercial operation would be anchored on the completion of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ Calaca-Dasmarinas transmission line expansion project.

The project’s connection to the grid would also depend on the completion of the New Calaca substation “and final project economics dependent on ERC’s [Energy Regulatory Commission] decision on the PSA [power supply agreement] which impacts financing.”

Semirara Mining and Meralco PowerGen, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manila Electric Co., formed a joint venture to develop the power plant.

Meralco, the country’s biggest power distributor, has a pending application with the ERC for the purchase of up to 400 megawatts of electrical output from the St. Rafael power plant.

The proposed power plant is the second phase of the planned expansion of the Calaca coal-fired plant facility.

Semirara Mining’s board approved the second phase of the expansion in 2014, that would involve two units of 350 MW each, using pulverized coal technology.

The current Calaca facility consists of two 300-MW generating units and is designed to utilize local coal from Semirara.

DMCI bought the Calaca plant from the government in July 2009, with a bid of $361.7 million.

Source: Manila Standard