Aboitiz Power expects completion of rehab work on power plants

MANILA, Philippines - Aboitiz Power Corp., the energy unit of the Aboitiz Group, will complete early next year the rehabilitation works of two renewable power.

The full operation of one geothermal and one hydroelectric plant will increase output and electricity that is available in grids, the company said.

For the 100-megawatt (MW) Binga hydropower plant in Benguet, Aboitiz Power said the repair of the first unit was completed last December. It allowed the hydropower plant to increase output to 105 MW from 100 MW.

“Works on the second unit have commenced and are expected to be completed in June 2012. Rehabilitation of the remaining two units will commence thereafter,” Aboitiz Power said.

In 2010, Aboitiz Power and SN Power Corp. of Norway started the refurbishment project.

To date, 80 percent of the headrace tunnel and intake excavation is already completed.

“Full completion will result to Binga’s total capacity reaching 120 MW, from the current 105 MW,” Aboitiz Power said.

Meanwhile, the listed power producer targets completing the rehabilitation of the Tiwi-Makban geothermal power facility in Albay in the second half of this year.

“Works on the Tiwi facilities are targeted for completion by the third quarter of 2012, while those for Makban are seen to be finished by first quarter of 2013,” Aboitiz Power said.

In 2009, Aboitiz Power, through subsidiary Aboitiz Power Renewables, Inc., bagged the 747-MW Tiwi-Makban geothermal plants, which recorded a peak generation capacity of 467 MW that year.

The complex is composed of eight geothermal plants and one binary plant.

“Enhancements in the plants’ availability rate are expected following the completion of the refurbishment, rehabilitation and resource improvements,” Aboitiz Power said.

As of end-2011, Aboitiz Power had a generating capacity of 2,350 MW, up by 15 percent year-on-year.

Its profits dropped by 14 percent to P21.6 billion last year due to lower output and cheaper selling prices.

Aboitiz Power is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail and power services. It is into several coal-fired, hydroelectric and geothermal assets across the country.