The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has given the go-signal for the commercial operation of the GNPower Dinginin supercritical coal-fired power plant’s 668-megawatt (MW) Unit 1.
This comes as the commission granted a Certificate of Compliance (COC) valid for five years.
GNPower Dinginin was supposed to fully operate as early as 2019, but was delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as lockdowns restricted the movement of personnel and equipment involved in the plant’s construction.
Aboitiz Power Corporation, which owns the plant, was hoping that the facility would finally begin commercial operations by the end of November. However, the internal test for Unit 1 was moved specifically to November 30 given the demand and supply situation at that time, as well as to support the grid during the Malampaya gas field’s outage.
Only Unit 1 has been issued a COC, as the 668MW Unit 2 is still being constructed and needs to undergo testing and commissioning.
Located in Mariveles, Bataan, GNPower Dinginin is connected to the Luzon Grid via an interim connection to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) Mariveles Substation. The final connection of the generation assets will be connected to NGCP’s New Mariveles (Alas-asin) 500-kilovolt switching station.
In a statement, ERC Chairperson Agnes Devanadera said the COC’s issuance would enable GNPower Dinginin to “inject power to the Luzon Grid that will provide the much-needed additional power supply to meet the increasing demand for power this holiday season and up to the election period.”
“The grant of COC to GNPower Dinginin will augment the country’s generation capacity and a proactive effort by the Commission, particularly in cases where power demand outweighs supply,” she added.
