AboitizPower to raise capacity of Tiwi-MakBan

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. expects to increase the generation capacity of the Tiwi and MakBan geothermal power plants after the six-year rehabilitation of the steamfield commenced last year.

AboitizPower chief operating officer Emmanuel Rubio said rehabilitation in the Tiwi and MakBan Geothermal Complex has already commenced.

“We have started looking at rehabilitating some wells in Tiwi. I think we’re already seeing some of the output of the (steamfield). It’s 12 wells, 50 megawatts. We signed that contract,” he said.

AboitizPower, through wholly-owned subsidiary AP Renewables Inc. (APRI), operates the 458-MW MakBan geothermal power plants that straddle the provinces of  Batangas and Laguna, as well as the 289-MW Tiwi geothermal power plants in Albay.

Last year, APRI signed a geothermal resources supply and services agreement (GRSSA) with Sy-led Philippine Geothermal Production Co. Inc. to supply steam and drill new production wells in the Tiwi and MakBan Geothermal Complex.

The agreement ensures the long-term operations of the two renewable power plant facilities. 

PGPC, the pioneer in the commercial development of geothermal energy in Southeast Asia, is the steamfields operator and geothermal resource provider to the power plants.

Under the GRSSA, PGPC will drill 12 new production wells over a six-year period to increase steam availability for the power plant facilities by about 20 percent. The agreement also ensures a more competitive fuel pricing in the long term. 

First commissioned in 1979, the Tiwi-MakBan Geothermal Complex is one of the biggest geothermal facilities in the country and the region.

PGPC has since operated the steamfield facilities.