ERC fines 2 hydropower generators

MANILA, Philippines — Two more power generators operating hydropower plants  were fined by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for exceeding outage allowance this year.

So far, the ERC has fined a total of seven power generators.

The power regulator issued separate decisions which found SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet Inc. (SNAP-BI) and CBK Power Company Ltd. liable for having incurred unplanned outages more than the days allowed for the year.

SNAP-BI was directed to pay an administrative penalty of P875,000 for incurring 14.3 unplanned outage days of 34.85-megawatt (MW) Unit 1 of the Ambuklao hydroelectric power plant (HEPP), which is beyond the 6.8 days allowed for hydropower plants.

The hydropower firm said  the shutdown from March 20 to April 4 is considered as planned outage since it submitted to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and ERC its revised annual preventive maintenance schedule for the Ambuklao HEPP.

However, the ERC said shutdowns should be reflected in the Grid Operating Maintenance Program (GOMP) and approved by the Department of Energy (DOE).

The power regulator classified these as unplanned shutdowns since they were not approved by the DOE.

Meanwhile, the ERC imposed a P416,200-penalty on CBK for incurring a total excess of 74.5 unplanned outage days of the 175.1-MW Unit 4 of the Kalayaan HEPP.

CBK said Kalayaan Unit 4’s outage was due to the critical condition of the outdoor sealing end (ODSE) of the main power cable of the said generating unit following an internal oil leak observed on Nov. 27, 2020.

The company further said the travel restrictions imposed by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic hindered its foreign specialist from entering the country, delaying the repair of the Kalayaan Unit 4. It was only on March 23 when CBK completed repairs of the generating unit.

The travel restriction arising from the pandemic should be considered as force majeure, CBK said.

However, while the pandemic caused delays in the repairs, the ERC said the internal leak, which is the root cause of the unplanned shutdown, could have been avoided if CBK exercised precautionary measures.

The ERC earlier directed Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) to pay an administrative penalty of P135,400 for incurring 0.54 day of unplanned outage of the 150-MW SLPGC Unit 2, which is beyond the 16.9 days allowed for coal power plants.

Team Sual Corp. (TSC) was fined a total of P4.79 million for having an excess of 10.68 unplanned outage days for its Unit 1 and 96.2 days for its Unit 2.

The commission also directed Energy Development Corp. (EDC) to pay the administrative penalty of P1.022 million for incurring 22.64 days of unplanned outages of the Nasulo Geothermal Power Plant (NGPP) Unit 1, which is beyond the 13.7 days allowed for geothermal power plants.

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) was fined P980,400 for the excess unplanned outage of Unit 2 of Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTPP) for 21.2 days.

ERC ordered SPC Island Power Corp. to settle P4.02 million in administrative penalty for having incurred 98 days of unplanned outage of the Panay Diesel Power Plant 3, which is in excess of the 14 days allowed for diesel power plants.

Out of the eight power generators that were found to have breached allowable outage days, only Masinloc Power Partners Co., Ltd. (MPPCL) was found not liable for violating the annual allowable plant outage due to travel restrictions imposed by government amid the pandemic.

MPPCL’s Unit 3 incurred a total excess of 30.7 unplanned outage days this year. The said unit was originally placed on planned maintenance from Dec. 1 to 18, 2020, but the outage was extended from Dec. 19, 2020 to Feb. 24, 2021.

In its order, the ERC said if it had not been for the travel restrictions which prevented the technical experts’ entry into the country, MPPCL could have repaired its unit 3 before the effectivity of its order on allowable outage per year starting Jan. 3.

EDC, PSALM, SPC and SLPGC have expressed their intent to file their respective motions for reconsideration with the ERC.