CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 7 May) – Steag State Power, Inc., operator of the lone 210-megawatt coal plant in Mindanao, announced that it will resume supplying electricity to island’s grid this coming Thursday.
Jerome Soldevilla, Steag communications officer, said repairs on Unit 1 capable of producing 105MW of electricity have already been done and the power generator is expected to be back online on Thursday.
He said the power generated would be an additional 10 percent to the Mindanao, grid which is now suffering a 300MW deficiency after National Power Corporation started load shedding early this month.
“We hope our entry can decrease the brownouts by two hours,” Soldevilla said.
Soldevilla said another power generating turbine, also capable of producing 105MW, will also be back online this coming June 1.
Steag operates two turbines in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, which were damaged and conked out during an island-wide fault on the Mindanao grid last Feb. 27.
Brian Diosma, of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), said it is be a welcome development to the prevailing 300MW deficit in the Mindanao gird.
“By June 1, Steag will be producing 210 megawatts. The gap will become smaller and the situation will be more manageable,” he said.
He added Mindanao’s power deficit is at 300MW during work days and 120MW during weekends.
