Therma Marine power barge breaks down in Mindanao

Adding to the energy crisis in Mindanao, one of the power barges of Therma Marine Inc. has broken down. The company, a unit of the Aboitiz Power Corporation, produces 200 megawatts (MW) of power from its two power barges—one in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte and another in Maco, Compostela Valley. In a statement, Therma Marine chief operating officer Jovy Batiquin said that one of the generators of Mobile 1, moored in Maco, developed technical problems and had to be shut down indefinitely for repairs. The shutdown caused the loss of some 50 MW of capacity from a grid that is already short by more than 200 MW as of Thursday. Aboitiz Power said the generator had been running for 72 hours straight prior to the incident. In an earlier statement, Therma Marine had said that the barges have been running 24 hours a day to meet power demand, even though they are meant to be “peaking plants,” which run only in times of high demand to provide ancillary power to the grid. "We apologize for the inconvenience this unforeseen event may cause our customers. We are now assessing the situation and the repairs needed so we can come up with a timetable and we will accordingly inform all our customers—the electric cooperatives and distribution utilities—of developments as soon as the information is determined," said Batiquin. The barges supply power to 23 electric cooperatives and distribution utilities to add to the supply provided by state-owned National Power Corporation (Napocor). — BM, GMA News