By Lenie Lectura
The 100-megawatt (MW) diesel power plant of Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) is poised to reduce its output by half this weekend due to a delay in fuel delivery.
WMPC of the Alsons Power Group said on Friday that it was advised by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) of the delay due to “some hitches in [its] procurement process that were beyond [its] control.”
PSALM owns the power plant while WMPC operates it.
The delay will result in a critical fuel inventory level for the WMPC plant, said the power-plant operator.
From 100 MW, the WMPC plant will be forced to reduce its output to 50 MW per hour beginning midnight of May 29 until the plant is able to utilize the fuel scheduled for arrival on May 30.
“We expect to begin operating at full capacity by May 31, 2015, at the latest. WMPC deeply regrets the resulting inconvenience to the power consumers of the Mindanao grid due to PSALM’s delay in fuel-supply delivery,” WMPC said.
According to PSALM, their new fuel supplier “encountered some problems with customs in the release of their product” and that “as a stop-gap measure, the supplier resorted to tank truck deliveries which are not enough to sustain the plant requirements.”
PSALM has further conveyed that the fuel supplier’s barge is “scheduled to arrive at WMPC Port this coming Saturday, 0800H [8 a.m.] May 30, 2015, with a load of 3,900 kilos.”
Under the existing Energy Conversion Agreement between WMPC and PSALM, the latter is responsible for the supply and delivery of the fuel required for the operations of the WMPC diesel plant.
The agreement also requires PSALM to ensure at all times that the necessary stocks of fuel required by the plant will be made available.
“We would like to assure Mindanao power consumers that we at WMPC will work hand in hand with PSALM to ensure that we are able to operate at full capacity at the soonest time possible,” WMPC said.