SMC: Reopening of Ilijan plant seen in May after delivery of ‘first-ever’ LNG cargo

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Friday said its 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan natural gas plant will be reintegrated into the national grid late next month.

In a statement, SMC said the reopening of the Ilijan plant is targeted for May 26, 2023.

The reopening is expected to provide stability in the country's power supply amid the projected high demand in the summer months and in the coming years, the company said.

“With the reintegration of the Ilijan power plant into the power grid system, the country will be better assured of energy supply security these coming summer months and beyond,” said SMC President Ramon Ang.

SMC said that through its power arm SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP), it recently took delivery of the country’s first-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo that will fuel its Ilijan power plant. 

"Hopefully, with all available power facilities operating--with no plants breaking down or going on unscheduled shutdown--we will have more than enough capacity for the rest of the year, and consumers will not have to experience brownouts or supply rotations," added Ang.

Since June last year, the Ilijan plant has been on extended outage and in the meantime, is undergoing retrofitting works, according to SMC.

Ilijan has historically contributed up to 10% of Luzon’s net reliable capacity, it said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News