GLOBAL Business Power Corporation wants the coal-fired power plant project in the Negros Occidental province to push through immediately.
Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said that in the meeting last Saturday, the executives of Global Business Power bared their plans to construct the P16 billion to P20 billion coal-fired power plant.
Marañon said the province needs the construction of a coal-fired power plant, which is a quick solution to the power shortage problem of the province.
Global Business Power has put up similar power plants in Cebu and Iloilo.
The governor said Pulupandan town is the most suitable place in the province to host the power plant because of its port that is required for the shipment of coal. The town is also proximate to the consumers in Bacolod City and Central Negros, who account about 50 percent of the total power demand in the province.
The governor and the company executives will try to convince Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña to support the plan.
The governor said the power firm will invite Peña to observe the operation of clean coal-fired power plant to convince him to accommodate the project in his town.
The company also presented the nuclear power plant as another option for the province. Its construction would take about seven years, similar to the construction of a hydro power plant.
Negros Occidental’s available power supply is about 230 Megawatts but during peak load hours, the power demand reaches 240 Megawatts.
When the province’s power sources, like the Green Core Geothermal Power Plant, undergo preventive maintenance operations, the power shortage in the province reaches up to 30 Megawatts.
The power shortage necessitates load shedding for electric distribution utilities, resulting to power interruptions and rotating brown outs, adversely affecting businesses, and causing great inconvenience to residential consumers.
In recent years, a similar coal fired-power project was proposed by Edison Global Corporation in Pulupandan town, but it was stalled because of the strong opposition of the church and environmentalist groups.
Marañon said he and the company’s officials are ready to meet with representatives of the church and environmental groups. He is also ready for a debate on environmental issues.
The governor also dared the groups opposing the project to present alternative solutions to the province’s power shortage problem.(Teresa Ellera-Dulla)