IN what appears to be a compliance with the call by environment and climate activists to do away and ditch coal and fossil fuel-driven power generators, Meralco’s Powergen Corporation (MGen) is gradually shifting its coal-fired power plants to alternative renewable energy (RE).
As a result, experts believe the transition from fossil fuel-fired plants to RE will result in a relatively higher rate that will be costly for power consumers.
In a recent forum, MGEn President and CEO Jaime Azurin said the pandemic has prompted the need for long-term transformation change under the “new normal.”
MGen is aiming to attain carbon neutrality or net zero emissions by 2050.
MGen has started operating the BulacanSol a P4.25 billion solar power plant in San Miguel, Bulacan last May. The plant generates a 50-megawatt power (MG).
Another 115- MW solar farm has started its construction in Baras, Rizal, the first RE power plant by Global Business Power Corp. (GBP) which was acquired by MGen.
The power plant will be completed by September next year.
GBP is negotiating the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts for its pipe-lined solar plants in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, and Ilocos Norte.
With the combined capacity of GBP and MGen, the Meralco power generation arm has a gross capacity of 2,446 MW.
MERALCO the country’s largest private power distributor has billed power consumers a hefty P9.5 per kilowatt-hour this November.
The power rate increase was the consequence of getting their power supply from LPG-fired power plants when Malampaya gas reserve shut its operations last October.
How much generations and system loss charges will MERALCO burden the power consumers when they start buying their power supply from REpower plants?
The question can't be answered today but based on the present rate we can assume that it would cost much higher
In the meantime, power consumers will have to bear the impact of power outages during the transition phase of shifting from fossil fuel-fired plants to REpower generators.
Existing plants have to be retrofitted or redesigned to match the RE new technology.
Tags: #renewalenergy, #Meralco, #powerrates, #higherrates