REHABILITATION of the five Agus-Pulangi hydropower plants will cost approximately P54 billion or about $1.07 billion which when finished, is targeted to increase their capacities and extend service longevity by more than 30 years.
In a statement released by the Department of Finance (DOF), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the rehabilitation of the plants will be done in phases. Rehabilitation will commence at the plant with the oldest generating units. Dominguez added they have decided to include the first stage of the rehabilitation “in the second basket of projects for possible financing by China through Official Development Assistance (ODA).”
National Power Corporation (Napocor) president Pio Benavidez reported to Dominguez that the first phase of the rehabilitation will be done at the Agus 6 facility as it has the oldest facility and the biggest output. This was estimated to cost $172.5 million and would include Units 3 to 5.
Agus 2 and Agus 7 will then follow, with each of the rehabilitation cost $207 million and $62.10 million, respectively. Benavidez added these facilities are operating at 60 percent of the over 900-megawatt rated capacity.
They target that the entire rehabilitation will take place within four to five years, increasing the total capacity by an average of 10 percent per facility when each rehabilitation is finished.
“The replacement of old transformers as well as the old electrical equipment to make these facilities more reliable are part of the rehabilitation plan for the power plants… After the rehabilitation, total capacity would reach more than 1,000 megawatts,” read the released statement.
Together with the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric power plants, the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility to replace the Malampaya natural gas reserves before depletion is expected to help with the stability of the Philippines’ power supply.
Currently, the national government is coordinating with a potential Japanese investor interested to supply LNG receiving stations. This is part of the integrated LNG facility project being built by Department of Energy (DOE) and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) in preparation for the Malampaya gas field depletion by 2024. The gas field currently supplies about 50 percent of the energy demand of Luzon.