AboitizPower Corp. will be temporarily deactivating their diesel-fired power barges located in Navotas next month due to lack of approvals of its power supply agreement.

AboitizPower said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it is shelving its bunker C-fired diesel power plants under subsidiary Therma Mobile Inc.

Therma Mobile has been commercially inactive since June 26 last year due to no approved power supply agreement, Aboitiz Power said.

“After evaluating the circumstances and the options available, TMO decided to mothball its bunker C-fired diesel power plants,” it said.

AboitizPower said Therma Mobile has notified Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) that it will physically disconnect from the power distributor’s system and and will be removed as a trading participant in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) starting February 5.

The company will also send notices to Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc. (IEMOP), Department of Energy (DOE), and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), as stated under the notice requirements under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).

Therma Mobile has an installed capacity of 242 MW with four barges-mounted floating power plants.

The power barges were obtained from the  Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) in 2011.

The barges went under rehabilitation starting July 2011 and commercial operations commenced on November 2013 with a capacity of 100 MW. In April 2014, the current dependable capacity of 200 MW was attained and proven in a successful capacity test.