The city of Ormoc and geothermal leader Energy Development Corp. recently celebrated more than 30 years of partnership for progress through two important activities as part of the city’s 72nd Charter Day celebration.
The day’s events kicked off in the morning with the blessing of the new geothermal wellhead figure at the rotunda in Barangay San Pablo, Ormoc.
The seven-meter figure is an actual part of EDC’s oldest and biggest geothermal facility that straddles Ormoc and the town of Kananga, Leyte. The wellhead assembly provides the structural and pressure-containing points of the production well that is drilled two to three kilometers below the earth’s surface.
The blessing was led by Ormoc City Councilors Lalaine Marcos, Gregorio Yrastorza III, and Peter Rodriguez with EDC employees led by lawyer Allan V. Barcena, head of EDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility-Public Relations Group, and Erwin B. Magallanes, head of EDC’s CSR team in Leyte; Engineer Rolanda A. Bensig, Jr. and key members of the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers-Ormoc Kananga Chapter, who helped in putting up the wellhead figure and in enhancing the rotunda.
The inauguration of EDC’s permanent geothermal exhibition in the city’s new museum, led by Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez and lawyer Barcena, followed.
The Geo 24/7 exhibit highlights EDC’s over 30 years of sustainably lighting up the Luzon-Visayas regions with clean, renewable, reliable geothermal energy, and how it has enhanced the environment, and uplifted the lives in its partner communities in Leyte.
It was called Geo 24/7 to refer to geothermal as the only source of renewable energy that provides uninterrupted power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round.
“We are honored and thankful to be a part of Mayor Richard Gomez’s laudable project here in this new Ormoc City Museum that showcases the best of Ormoc in art form and recognizes EDC’s role in the city’s history and progress,” said Barcena.
The exhibit made use of actual artifacts from EDC’s Leyte facility, such as the control panel that used to operate its 36-year old 123-megawatt Tongonan geothermal power plant, which is also the company’s oldest facility.
It likewise features a huge scale model of the same power plant that is bound to create more interest on how geothermal works from museum visitors.
“Through this exhibit, we hope to instill pride among Ormocanons, not only because of the benefits of geothermal energy and why we refer to it as Geo 24/7, but also because this source of indigenous, renewable energy is most abundant here in Leyte among all other parts of our country,” added Barcena.
“Today is a beautiful day for us. Thank you so much, EDC, for being a part of our showcase in this museum,” said Mayor Gomez during the inauguration. “Your exhibit is very educational for our visitors and for our students. Even us, adults, can learn from it.”
EDC’s 1,475MW capacity accounts for 37% of the country’s total generated renewable energy, making it the country’s leading RE company. Its 1,181MW of geothermal portfolio, which accounts for 61% the country’s total installed geothermal capacity, has put the Philippines on the map as the world’s 3rd largest geothermal producer.