Coal-fired power plant in Davao pushed

HEDCOR, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., is pushing for the setting up of a coal-fired power plant in Davao City, saying it will help stabilize the power needs of Davao Region.

"We need a plant that we can rely on, a based plant that we can depend on. And coal plant is one," Rene Ronquillo, Hedcor president, said last week.

He reiterated that although they are mainly involved in the hydroelectric power plants in the region, they still pushing for the proposed Aboitiz coal fired power plant in the city.

"A stable power is always better when mixed," Ronquillo said when asked what he thinks is a better and dependable source of energy.

He also added economies of European countries that went overboard with either solar energy or hydroelectricity, are now in jeopardy.

"As you can see the countries that are mostly using these kinds of energy are now struggling economically. It is always important to have a base load or source," Ronquillo said.

Ronquillo said hydroelectric power plants may be less expensive and it only needs minimal maintenance, but power production can be adversely affected once the El Nino weather phenomenon strikes. Scarcity of water supply will greatly affect the plant, he said.

Senator Francis Escudero, in his last visit the city, said that Mindanao will be greatly affected by power outages in the next few years if there will still be not enough energy source by 2012.

"This is a very painful decision that the people of Davao have to make," Escudero said. (Carmelle Marie Harrow)