Kamanga power station

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Kamanga power station, also known as SM200, is a 210-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Sarangani Province, Philippines.

Location

The undated satellite photo below shows the location of the plant's site, in Kamanga Barangay, Maasim Municipality, Sarangani Province.

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Background on plant

The Kamanga power station (also known as the Southern Mindanao power station or the SM200 project) is a 210-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station owned by Sarangani Energy Corp and under construction on the coast of Sarangani province, Mindanao, the Philippines. It is one of two coal plants under development by Alcantara family energy-related businesses. The proponent of the power station is Conal Holdings, a 40:60 joint venture between Electricity Generating Public Company Limited of Thailand and the Alcantara Group.

Initial announcement

In 2008 it was reported that Conal had reached an agreement with the Sultan Mining and Energy Development Corporation for the supply of coal for the project.

In June 2008, Gregorio Gonzales, Conal's project manager for the plant, announced that Conal would begin building the $450-million 200-MW coal-fired plant in mid-2010; this schedule was significantly delayed. In October 2010, Conal Holdings Vice President Joseph C. Nocos announced the company will start construction of the $450-million Kamanga power station in the first quarter of 2011 to plug a "chronic power supply deficit" expected to hit Mindanao by 2014, as well as address an expected rise in the power of electricity due to the privatization of local hydropower plants. Nocos said the coal-fired power plant, which is staunchly opposed by the local Catholic Church and environmental groups over human health and the environmental concerns, can be developed in three to five years.

Unit 1

Financing for Unit 1 was secured in December 2012, and the notice to proceed was issued shortly thereafter. In March 2013, Korean company Daelim Industrial took over the project as engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor; construction began shortly thereafter. Construction was 54% complete as of September 2014. A June 2015 press report stated that the first unit was "on target" for completion by the end of 2015.

In April 2016, Alsons reported that key tests had been completed in the commissioning of the first 105 MW unit of the plant and that it was now waiting for the certificate of compliance (COC) from the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Unit 1 started commercial operations in April 2016. The plant was ceremonially switched on by Pres. Duterte in January 2017, after it had already been operating for eight months.

Unit 2

In May 2016, company executive vice president and COO Tirso Santillan said that Alsons expected to award the engineering procurement and construction contract for Unit 2 "within the next few days."

In August 2016 Alsons signed a US$280 million (P13.17 billion) deal with Japan’s JGC Corp. for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) development of the second unit. Unit 2 was planned for operation in 2019.

Construction on Unit 2 began in February 2017. The second unit was then scheduled to be brought online Q1 2019. In January 2018 Power Philippines listed a target date for commissioning the plant of December 2018 and a target date for commercial operations of January 2019.

The DOE's list of new power projects for September 2018 lists a target commissioning date of February 2019.

The DOE's list of new power projects for March 2019 lists a target commissioning date of June 2019. Unit 2 was commissioned in October 2019.

Rate issues and local power market

According to Nocos, currently the South Cotabato Electric Cooperative (Socoteco) II charges about P6.00 per kilowatt-hour to its consumers in the city, the whole of Sarangani province and parts of South Cotabato province. Mr. Nocos said higher power rates would take a toll on consumers with the privatization of National Power Corporation’s power plants as required by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Republic Act 9136). Nocos said privatization of the Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants will lead to higher power costs as new power plant investors will have to recover their investment. More than half of Mindanao’s power requirement comes from the hydropower plants, thus consumers in the area depend on lower power rates compared with Luzon and the Visayas.

Secretary Lualhati R. Antonino, chairwoman of the Mindanao Development Authority, said the government has not arrived on a firm decision to sell the hydropower plants to the private sector. She cited the proposal of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry to stop the privatization of the hydropower plants. Once Conal Holdings’ coal-fired power plant goes on stream, consumers in the service area of Socoteco II will enjoy at least a peso reduction in power rates as the company will directly connect to the transmission facilities of the cooperative, Mr. Nocos said.

Public opposition

On November 21, 2010, a 75-boat flotilla and a human banner formed by around 800 villagers from the town of Maasim in Sarangani province in Mindanao spelled out the words "No To Coal" on the grounds of a local elementary school. The activities were part of a campaign by Maasim People’s Coalition on climate change (MP3C) and Greenpeace International. The flotilla was composed of outrigger-boats of local fishers while the human banner that spelled out "NO TO COAL" was composed of students, activists and residents.

Amalie Conchelle H. Obusan, climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace, said collaboration with local groups is part of the campaign to localize the advocacy against the use of coal as industrial fuel: "Greenpeace seeks for 50% renewable energy efficiency in the country by the year 2020," adding it "will ask President [Benigno S. C.] Aquino’s support to achieve this." Fr. Apollo G. Salazar of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, a religious group opposing the coal plant, said in his talk at the event that there is a need to augment sources of power in Mindanao but "it must be from a sustainable and clean source, not coal."

The coal-fed plant is said to stabilize the energy grid in Mindanao that currently relies on hydropower, or over 50% as power source. Conal Holdings’ officials claimed on the Sarangani provincial government’s Web site that "the P20-billion facility... is the answer to [a] projected power shortage on the island in 2012." Nerissa B. Tongco, MP3C officer said: "The coal project is part of what is called the holy trinity of development aggression in Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos)." The other two are the Tampakan copper project of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. and a coal-mining project under San Miguel Corp. in Lake Sebu, both in South Cotabato.

In May 2014, local scuba divers reported that the ongoing construction of the Kamanga plant was destroying pristine coral reefs in Sarangani Bay. The project manager said he would "look into the matter."

Project details

• Sponsor: Sarangani Energy Corporation
• Parent: Alcantara Group, Global Power Development Corp., Toyota Tsusho
• Location: Kamanga Barangay, Maasim Municipality, Sarangani Province, Philippines
• Coordinates: 5.86868, 125.079818 (exact)
• Status: Unit 1: Operating; Unit 2: Operating
• Gross Capacity: Unit 1: 105 MW; Unit 2: 105 MW
• Type: Subcritical
• In service: Unit 1: 2016; Unit 2: 2019
• Coal Type:
• Coal Source:
• Source of financing:

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