Six more power plants to come in the weekend

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MANILA — Six more power plants are expected projected to be back in operation this week after these were affected by typhoon “Glenda”, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

The six power plants were the two units of Pagbilao, Masinloc 1, MakBan Geothermal Production Field U2 and U4, Tiwi-Makban, Maibarara Power Plant, and the BacMan Geothermal Power Plant.

The comeback of the six plants is expected to further increase the amount of power reserves, which was on a dwindling level last week.

Specifically, the two units of the Pagbilao Power Plant, with a total capacity of 764 Megawatts (MW), are projected to come in the weekend, after it was deemed ineffective due to the tripping of the Tayabas transmission line caused by the typhoon.

Moreover, the first unit of the Masinloc Power Plant is expected to return online on Saturday, with a capacity of 315 MW. The operation currently being applied to the unit is called deslagging of boilers.

Previously, DOE Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said that Masinloc’s boiler tubes grew to the size of a bus due to stacks of coal deposits.

The solution sought to avoid the two month manual removal was to enforce a controlled explosion on the inside of the boiler tube.

Also, the U2 and U4 of the MakBan Geothermal Production Field, with a production of 93 MW, are also projected to be in operation to have a production on Saturday.

Similarly, the 2nd unit of the Tiwi-Makban Geothermal Power Plant is expected to contribute a stable 30 MW to the Luzon grid.

The Maibarara Geothermal Power Plant, with a 19 MW capacity, is also expected to come online.

On the other hand, the 1st unit of the BacMan Geothermal Power Plant, having 110 MW capacity, will be operational on Saturday.

The total capacity of all the current plants in the Luzon grid is at 12,491 MW, with some plants unloading a lower supply to prevent greater damages on their facilities.

For Saturday, Luzon will have a generation capacity of 8,601 MW, while Sunday’s projection is at 8,382 MW.

Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has forecast a capacity of 8,234 MW for the Luzon region on Friday, accompanied by a consumption demand of 7,049 MW. Its projected reserve remains on a stable rate of 1,185 MW.