Off-grid supplier DMCI Power Corp., owned by the Consunji Group, deployed two satellite diesel power plants to Masbate province to boost the island’s electdricity supply.
The facilities, located in the municipalities of Cawayan and Balud, have a combined capacity of 1.75 megawatts.The company said the Masbate areas were experiencing frequent brownouts due to trippings of the transmission lines and voltage problems prior to the installation of the two satellite plants, Masbate Electric Cooperative requested DMCI Power to address the problem by deploying generating units in Cawayan and Balud following the appeals made by the concerned local government units.
“Quality of life in Masbate has significantly improved because of our partnership with the Maselco. There’s more economic activity and higher productivity because people have access to reliable electricity,” DMCI Power president Nestor Dadivas said.
DMCI Power, a unit of DMCI Holdings Inc., meanwhile, has been expanding its power generation portfolio recently.
DMCI Power, through an agreement with Palawan Electric Cooperative and as agreed upon by the local government through a resolution, is scheduled to construct a new 5.7-MW diesel power plant in Brooke’s Point.
DMCI Power is also expanding its energy portfolio to include renewable energy such as hydro and biomass.
“We are closely studying hydropower and biomass because we think they have the strongest potential in terms of output reliability and commercial viability among the available RE technologies,” Dadivas said earlier.
DMCI Power currently operates diesel and bunker power plants in Masbate, Palawan and Oriental Mindoro.
Another diesel plant with a capacity of three megawatts is set to operate in Sultan Kudarat by year-end.
The company is in the initial stage of identifying locations for the renewable energy projects.
“Right now, we have identified one or two areas. But the locations could still change depending on the results of our feasibility studies,” Dadivas said.
The company cited market conditions and government incentives as the reasons for its planned foray into renewable energy.
“Having priority dispatch, government support and a competitive price at a growing but highly competitive power industry makes these RE projects more attractive” the official said.
DMCI Power was established in 2006 to provide sufficient and reliable electricity to areas that are not connected to the main transmission grid. Aside from Masbate, the company also provides power to Palawan and Calapan, Oriental Mindoro through supply contracts with electric cooperatives. It has a total contracted capacity of about 59 MW to date.
