Quezon Power (Philippines), Limited Co. (QPL) has filed a proposal to build a P95-billion natural gas-fired power plant with a capacity of 1,230 megawatts (MW) in Mauban, Quezon, targeting the start of commercial operations in 2031.

In a filing with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the company said the project would involve constructing a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant together with a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

Such filings place a project under the DENR's environmental impact assessment process, a regulatory milestone ahead of the targeted construction start.

“The power plant will primarily utilize natural gas supplied through imported LNG, with fuel oil available as a backup fuel source,” QPL said.

The proposed CCGT facility, known as the San Francisco Power Plant, will occupy an 18.55-hectare site housing onshore LNG regasification and storage facilities, a power plant, a seawater system, electrical interconnection facilities, and an LNG jetty.

The plant is designed to connect to the Luzon grid through the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ 230-kilovolt transmission network via a 31-kilometer transmission line.

Construction is targeted to begin in the second quarter of 2027 and be completed by the fourth quarter of 2030, with commercial operations scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2031.

QPL said the site was chosen for its proximity to existing power facilities and supporting infrastructure, access to the seawater needed for plant operations, available land for future expansion, and its connection to the transmission network.

The San Francisco Power Plant is among the projects proposed by 10 prequalified companies participating in the Department of Energy’s (DoE) first mid-merit natural gas capacity auction, which seeks to secure 3,840 MW of gas-fired capacity nationwide from 2026 to 2031, including 2,900 MW allocated to Luzon. Mid-merit capacity generally refers to plants dispatched between baseload and peaking units, ramping output up and down as daily demand shifts. Of the Luzon allocation, 1,400 MW is targeted for delivery in 2026, another 500 MW in 2027, and 1,000 MW from new power facilities in 2031 — a tranche that lines up with QPL’s target commercial start, positioning the San Francisco project within that delivery window.

The government considers natural gas a transition fuel that can support electricity supply and grid stability as the country raises the share of renewable energy in its power generation mix.

QPL is wholly owned by Thailand’s Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO Group), an independent power producer. The company also owns and operates an existing coal-fired power plant in Mauban and is affiliated with San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL), which operates a separate 500-MW coal-fired facility in the same municipality.

SBPL is a joint venture between Meralco PowerGen Corp. and an EGCO Group subsidiary, holding ownership interests of 51% and 49%, respectively. The San Buenaventura plant began commercial operations in September 2019 and was the first coal-fired power plant in the Philippines to use supercritical boiler technology.

Source: Sheldeen Joy Talavera, BusinessWorld