Second Sual coal plant boosts economic prospects - Arcinue

SUAL, Pangasinan – The construction of a new coal-fired power plant in this coastal town is in support to the development thrusts of the government.

This was stressed by Mayor Roberto Ll. Arcinue in a recent interview with newsmen after President Duterte’s recent trip to China.

During  Duterte’s visit to Boao, China, 10 Chinese companies said they would invest billions in the Philippines.

Sual Mayor Roberto "Bing" Arcinue

The estimated total value of the investment is about $9 billion or P467 billion. The investments are also expected to generate 10,000 jobs for Fillpinos.

With the influx of foreign investors into the country, it has become imperative for the country to have sufficient, stable and affordable electricity, according to the mayor.

“It is hard for our economy to grow fast and have sustainable development if its power supply is unstable and costly,” he stressed.

Power rates in the Philippines are the third highest in South East Asia (SEA) and fourth in the Asia-Pacific region, said a survey done by the International Energy Consultants (IEC), an Australia-based consulting firm specializing in Asian power markets.

The Philippines’s power rates, he added, are also the 16th highest in the world.

One big reason is the country’s power generation capacity is low compared to other SEA countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

In 2012, for instances, the total primary energy supply per person per year was only 0.44 tons of oil. Indonesia has twice, Thailand has four times, Malaysia has six times, and Singapore has 11 times that amount.

                                    

                                          Second power plant

Mayor Arcinue shared the view that construction of more coal-fired power plants is the most effective way of providing cheaper electricity and preventing another power crisis as what happened in the past.

He disclosed that Korea Electric Power Company  (KEPCO Philippines) is keen on putting up a 1,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant here that would cost about two billion US dollars.

This prosperous town already hosts Team Energy’s 1,218-MW Sual power station, the country’s biggest coal-fired power plant ,located in Barangay Pangascasan, Sual ,which began operating in 1999.

“Our population is growing and we need an additional plant to serve the people of Luzon, North Luzon, and Metro Manila,” Arcinue said.

Arcinue echoed what then Davao City Mayor Duterte said  as he  campaigned for the presidency that he saw nothing wrong with the government’s plan to put up new coal-fired power plants to boost power supply in the country.

Serving now as the country’s chief executive, President Duterte said the Philippines will continue to use coal in power generation but will implement new technologies to minimize emissions.

The President stressed that there should be no problem with coal when it comes to pollution owing to the advent of new technologies.

Among these new technologies is  the ultra-super critical coal-fired power plant which  at present is considered as a “High Efficiency Low Emission (HELE) Technology” and as a “green technology”.

Its high efficiency can reach of up to 45% which substantially cut its GHG emission by 30% compared to its predecessors or older coal fired power plants having efficiencies as low as 33% only.

For its Sual power plant, KEPCO would be using the ultra-supercritical technology which is the latest in coal power generation.

The plant would provide jobs for more than a thousand Sual residents.