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Thursday, March 28, 2024

ERC fines 2 more companies for unplanned outage

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The Energy Regulatory Commission slapped penalties against two more companies for exceeding the unplanned outage allowance this year that contributed to the tight supply situation.

It imposed the fines on Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. and Team Sual Corp. for violating the “Rules for the Interim Reliability Performance Indices and Equivalent Outage Days Per Year of Generating Units.”

The regulator slapped a fine of P135,400 on SLPGC for the outages of its coal-fired power plant unit 2 beyond the maximum allowable days per year.

It said SLPGC incurred total excess of 0.54 day in unplanned outage days covering the period Jan. 3 to April 25. SLPGC attributed the emergency shutdown of the plant to the boiler tube leaks, caused by the abrasion of the ash content in coal which are inherent in coal plants.

The ERC said there were pre-emptive procedures that should be done to prevent or minimize the occurrence of boiler tube leaks.

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It also imposed P4.795 million in penalties on TSC for having incurred 10.68 days and 96.2 days of unplanned outages for unit 1 and unit 2, respectively in excess of the 16.8 days of allowable unplanned outages for pulverized coal-fired power plants.

TSC unit 1 and 2 encountered closing failure of high pressure governing valve in December. Upon dismantling, it was found that HPGV 1 and 2’s valve seats moved outward and the seat associated holding pins and steam chests were eroded.

The ERC said TSC’s claim that it needed onsite technical support from GE was not substantiated.

Meanwhile, the ERC accepted the explanation of Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. regarding the outage of unit 3. MPPCL incurred total excess of 30.7 days of unplanned outage from Jan. 3 to April 25.

MPPCL said no administrative penalty should be imposed as the major reason for the cumulative unplanned outage of Masinloc unit 3 was the heightened travel restrictions amid the pandemic.

The ERC verified the claims of MPPCL that the travel restrictions were related to the entry of technical experts who could have repaired the plant sooner.

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