Government may buy, then close, Mindanao coal-fired plants

By Bernadette D. Nicolas, Businessmirror, 16 Apr 2021

THE Philippine government is looking to set up a fund to acquire all coal-fired power plants in Mindanao and shut them down in a bid to make the island heavily reliant on renewable-energy resources.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III revealed on Thursday that they are studying the “actual viability” of this concept in Mindanao together with Manila-based Asian Development Bank, adding that they should be able to come up with a model sometime in the third quarter of this year.

This study, he said, will coincide with their plan together with the Department of Energy to first improve the generating capacity of the Agus Pulangi Hydropower Complex which has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance over the years.

“So together with the Department of Energy, we have developed a plan to first improve the generating capacity of the Agus River System. As we do that, we are also studying the possibility of setting up a fund to acquire all the coal-powered plants in Mindanao, with the idea of shutting them down, as the energy delivery of the Agus River increases,” said Dominguez at the Virtual Economic Briefing hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., as the Philippines and the United States mark the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations this year.

Dominguez, who also sits as the chairman of the Climate Change Commission, is optimistic that this plan, together with the completion of the rehabilitation of the Agus River project, would greatly reduce the operations of older coal-fired power plants on the island.

“Now obviously, this will require long term, and low-cost funds so we are working together with the ADB to study the actual viability of this concept in the Mindanao area, with the idea that Mindanao will be totally powered by, or at least 90 percent powered by, renewable-energy resources,” he added.

Coal still dominates the country’s power generation mix at 49 percent; followed by renewable energy (26 percent) gas (21 percent); and, the remaining from other sources.

Last year, the Department of Energy declared a moratorium on endorsing new coal power plant projects, citing the need for the country to shift to a more flexible power supply mix.