Coal over LNG: Meralco pursues Atimonan project

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and its affiliate, Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), are leaning towards continuing with their original plan to develop a supercritical coal plant in Atimonan, Quezon, rather than pursuing a more complex liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.

In an interview, Meralco chairperson Manuel V. Pangilinan said that Atimonan One Energy Inc. (A1E), a subsidiary of MGen, is still evaluating the project. However, “the inclination is to stay with coal,” he noted.

“Right now, it is licensed, permitted, authorized to do a coal plant. We don’t know yet whether we stay with coal or we switch to natural gas. The inclination is to stay with coal,” Pangilinan explained.

Not final

The decision between pursuing coal and natural gas is not yet final. While coal has significant environmental drawbacks, it offers a more straightforward and financially predictable path.

Natural gas, on the other hand, would align with global trends toward cleaner energy but demands significant infrastructure investments and operational changes.

“If it’s gas, we have to put up the terminal, regasification facility. We probably should not stay at 1,200 megawatts (MW). Probably (we should) increase it. I don’t know whether that’s the right place to put up a gas complex. The inclination is to stay with coal, right?” Pangilinan said.

Outside the coal moratorium

Meanwhile, MGen president and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio emphasized that the planned power development in Atimonan falls outside the coal moratorium imposed by the Department of Energy (DoE).

“It’s outside of the moratorium. We have the ECC (Environmental Compliance and Certificate) for 1,200-MW ultra-supercritical coal,” Rubio confirmed.

“We are trying to get a DoE certification that is really outside the moratorium to start the discussions on System Impact Study, looking for an engineering study,” he added.

A1E originally aimed to build a highly efficient 1,200-MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant with low emissions.

However, the project faced delays due to opposition from environmental groups and the absence of a power supply agreement.

Thus, the company opted to pursue an LNG plant, which was initially set to begin last year but did not proceed as scheduled.