MERALCO PowerGen Corp. (MGen), the power generation unit of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), said the Department of Energy (DoE) has withdrawn its previous approval that exempted the company’s 1,273-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power projects from the 2020 coal moratorium.
“MGen received official communication from the DoE that the Acknowledgement of Non-Coverage for Atimonan One Energy, Inc.’s 1,200-megawatt power plant that it previously issued is being recalled for further review, pursuant to government’s policies and programs,” Meralco said in a stock exchange disclosure on Wednesday.
This follows a statement by MGen President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio on Tuesday that the company’s 1,273-MW coal-fired power plants were exempt from the 2020 coal moratorium. The Energy de-partment issued the moratorium on the development of new coal-fired power plants as the country sought to reduce its dependence on coal.
The supposed exemption from the coal moratorium means that the Energy department had approved the construction of the 1,200-MW Atimonan plant in Quezon and the 73-MW Toledo project in Cebu.
“These projects are considered critical baseload facilities essential to ensuring the delivery of reliable and affordable electricity to consumers, and MGen looks forward to the conclusion of the DoE’s further review,” Meralco said.
The confirmation for the Atimonan plant is subject to the condition that the company will commit to discontinue the use of coal as fuel by 2050. As a result, the company is considering ammonia as one of the viable replace-ments for coal.
Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E), a subsidiary of MGen, initially proposed to develop a 1,200-MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant at the project site under the environmental compliance certificate issued in 2015.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
